Naked Exorcism: A Countdown to Halloween (Day 23)

THE POSSESSOR

AKA

THE RETURN OF THE EXORCIST

AKA

NAKED EXORCISM

Beyond the terror of "The Exorcist," "The Amityville Horror" and "The Omen" lies a sadistic female demon called Haggia —THE POSSESSOR! When Peter-an archeology student-opens Haggia's cursed medallion, her spirit immediately takes control of him and begins a hellish assault on his loved ones. Peter's girlfriend Sherry, his sister and mother soon fall prey to Haggia's twisted carnal advances.

And when Peter undergoes the hideous sexual transformation into Haggia, his family has but one recourse: Brother Erasmo-The Exorcist. Before long, there ensues a frenzied battle between good and evil that escalates to a literally eye-popping, bloodcurdling climax that out-shocks "The Exorcist"!

Viewers beware: once THE POSSESSOR snatches your soul, you will never be the same!

CLICK.

WHIRR.

Those two sounds always get my eyes and ears ready for a movie on video tape and, unfortunately for both, they did it for this film, too.  

Well.

Having experienced the movie that was “The Possessor”, I have to say that I very much disagree with the box on this one.  It doesn’t come close to the level that any of the other films mentioned were able to reach.  In fact, the possession itself was about as scary as that “Bicycle Man” episode of DIFFERENT STROKES.  Creepy, sure, but nothing to terrify one to their soul.

Still, it is a bit more than an Exorcist rip-off.  It has Satan worship and a secret history and that counts for something.  What it lacks it writing and budget and make-up and SFX and talent, it somewhat makes up for in enthusiasm.  They’re trying here, they’re swinging for the fences with what they’ve got… and what they’ve got is the budget of a small American television station from the mid-70s.

My Grade: “D”

May this VHS tap sit in a cool dark place, eager to be played, yet just out of reach of the memory of it's owner... where no one can ever find it.

Still, I urge you to check out the trailer…

But I REALLY urge you to check out the Full Moon (honest) trailer at this link:

FULL MOON STREAMING

And here are a few more thorough reviews of this fine film…

CRITICAL OUTCAST

GRINDHOUSE DATABASE

Video Vamp: The Countdown to Halloween (Day 2)

Since I had no solid plans for my Halloween blog this year, I figured I would wing it.  I’ve done it before, but not up to my own expectations.  I always have a few ideas come the lonesome October, but sometimes an overarching theme avoids reach.  So I figured that this year would probably be much the same…

And then I looked to my movie shelves… I’ve got a lot of them.

And then I remembered all the VHS tapes of old taped shows I’ve yet to transfer to DVD.  And then I saw a handful of oversized VHS boxes that I’d been meaning to view for about a year.  They are pretty neat.

Last year, while doing my usual orders for the comic book store where I work, I came across a listing in the Diamond Comic Distributers monthly Previews catalog for about three dozen VHS tapes being offered by Full Moon Features…

WIZARD VIDEO

“Lost in a warehouse for 33 years! The amazing big box Wizard Video Collection! An early pioneer in the home video business, Charles Band started both MEDA HOME ENTERTAINMENT in the late 70's and WIZARD VIDEO in 1980.

After releasing features like THE GROOVE TUBE, FLESH GORDON and TUNNELVISION in the standard VHS box format, WIZARD VIDEO introduced the oversized "big VHS box" which featured lurid titles such as ZOMBIE, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, DEMONIAC & BREEDERS! After a few short years of these big VHS box releases WIZARD VIDEO returned to the standard size VHS box as retailers were quickly running out of shelf space. A fond memory for people who grew up in the video store era of the early 80's - the big VHS box has become a rare collectable due to its scarcity and (usually poor) condition. 

And now a treasure trove of original big VHS boxes was found late last year in one of Charles Band's and Full Moon's many overcrowded warehouses! 36 features are represented in this discovery with quantities ranging from 180 boxes to 420 boxes. The 30+ year old big VHS boxes are in mint condition as they have never been out of their original shipping boxes!

This unique sale!

Beginning February 12th and for every month thereafter four of these 36 Wizard Video big box VHS cassettes will go on sale. They will contain the original program newly duplicated on VHS in a black clam shell which will be in the original box.

This is truly a rare discovery and little part of the early days of the home video explosion!”

And so, even with the quantities as limited as they were, I ordered a handful of these big box VHS videocassettes.  I have yet to view them, partly because I was unsure if I had a working VCR.  I was pretty sure the last working one I had had eaten the last tape I tried to play in it.  But we’re in the proper season for both cheesy B-Grade horror and Mad Doctor antics and, so, I’m willing to take the risk!  More than crazy enough to sacrifice VHS tape to the Great Pumpkin if there’s a chance for real, unwholesome, schlocky goodness!

Each week I will attempt to watch and review one of the following five features for The Goods:

A Virgin Among The Living Dead

Click to Enlarge for a better look at the art stolen from Marvel Comics' Marvel Zombie, by Pablo Marcos, methinks!

Headless Eyes

The Screaming Dead

The Possessor

Fraulein Devil

More on each of these titles as they arrive on the blog individually!

As for the rest of the days...

we'll figure it out.

We've got, what, twenty-nine more of these to go?