The Possession of Joel Delaney Reviews

MacLaine is a rich divorcee living with her two children, Elliott and Kohane, in a swanky New York apartment. Her brother, King, had the opportunity to move in with her but prefers to live downtown in a depressing apartment in the East Village. King goes mad one night and attacks the janitor in his building, then can't recall the skirmish. He's put into a mental ward, but MacLaine gets him out and moves him into her place, then talks him into seeing Powell, a psychiatrist friend. King is acting strangely and is unable to communicate, except when discussing a Puerto Rican pal, Fernandez. MacLaine throws a birthday bash for King, but his behavior is maddening as he rails on in Spanish, yells at Colon, the maid, and even berates his girl friend, Trentham. Colon leaves angrily and the next day MacLaine travels to the maid's home in Spanish Harlem to plead for her to return. Colon refuses and is convinced that King has been "possessed," but MacLaine can't believe in that kind of Caribbean voodoo in this day and age (she should have seen ROSEMARY'S BABY). Her reluctance continues until MacLaine visits Trentham and finds the young woman's body and her head in distinctly different places. King is taken in by the cops, who want to know more about Tonio, whom they believe may be responsible for this killing as well as several others in the city. MacLaine searches for Tonio and learns that the boy has been dead for quite some time and his spirit might be trying to take over King's body. Since that kind of stuff can only be disposed of with supernatural powers, MacLaine becomes part of a seance that ultimately fails, with MacLaine getting the blame from all the others around the table because she doesn't truly believe in her heart that such things are possible. Powell says the problem may be with King and that MacLaine would be safer if she and her children got out of her apartment right away. The four of them go to the Long Island beach house MacLaine owns, where they feel safe for the night. The next morning, however, MacLaine finds Powell's head and body unattached. King walks in wielding a menacing switchblade and, speaking perfect Spanish, King, we surmise, is now being totally controlled by Fernandez. Powell's husband, Hordern, has told the police of his wife's whereabouts, and they arrive before King can kill anyone else. King, using Kohane and Elliott as shields, tries to get away, but the police shoot him down, and he lies bleeding in the sand. MacLaine takes her brother's body in her arms and doesn't realize that as he is dying the essence of Fernandez is moving into her body. She closes the dead man's open eyes, thins her lips at the cop who saved them, and reaches for King's knife as the picture ends. Bad taste, overwrought, and absolute clap-trap.