The Possession of Joel Delaney is a film that I watched a few years ago and it totally freaked me out.  It’s a film about possession that has never gotten as much attention as The Exorcist but seriously, this is one frightening movie.

This 1972 film takes place in New York City.  Norah Benson (Shirley MacClaine) is a rich and spoiled socialite, a snob who might brag about how nice she is to her maid but who would never dream of being caught dead visiting the neighborhood where she lives.  On the other hand, her younger brother — Joel Delaney (Perry King) — is a self-styled bohemian.  He’s just as rich as his sister and, in many ways, he’s just as much of a snob.  However, he disguises that fact by living in the “bad” part of town and hanging out with (and both idealizing and condescending to) the poor.  (When people talk about the “bad” part of the town in this film, they’re euphemistically referring to any part of the city where the majority of the residents are not white.)  If The Possession of Joel Delaney were made today, Norah would be Sasha Stone and Joel would be Devin Faraci.

Norah is extremely protective of Joel.  In fact, the film suggests that there might be something more to their relationship than just a sibling bond.  Norah worries about Joel living in a bad neighborhood.  She worries about his friends.  She reacts jealously when she meets his girlfriend, Sherry (Barbara Trentham).

So, you can imagine that Norah is rather upset when Joel is suddenly arrested for trying to kill his landlord.  Judged to be insane, Joel is sent to Bellevue.  Joel claims that he has no memory of attacking anyone.  In order to get out of the mental hospital, Joel lies and says that he was on drugs.

Moving in with Norah and her two kids, Joel starts to act strangely.  He starts to quiz Norah about her sex life.  He plays too rough with the children.  He tries to set Sherry’s hair on fire.  And he starts to speak in Spanish!

Could it be that Joel has been possessed by the spirit of his friend, Tonio?  Tonio, it turns out, was the landlord’s son.  It also appears that Tonio was the main suspect in a series of decapitation murders.  Could Tonio have moved his spirit into Joel’s body?  That’s what Norah’s Puerto Rican maid, Veronica (Miriam Colon), thinks!  Veronica quits her job, rather than have to deal with possessed Joel.

Norah decides to go to Veronica’s home and ask what’s happening with Joel.  What follows is a mix of horror and social satire.  Despite being a total stranger in Veronica’s neighborhood, Norah seems to be shocked when Veronica doesn’t exactly act overjoyed to see Norah standing in front of her small apartment.  As Norah demands to know what’s happening with her brother and Veronica explains that Joel may be possessed, you can’t help but get the feeling that Norah is more upset by the fact that Joel has been possessed by someone poor than by anything else.  In these scenes, Norah becomes the ultimate symbol of wealthy white privilege.

Meanwhile, Joel is going more and more crazy.  It all leads to one of the most horrifying sequences that I’ve ever seen, in which a possessed Joel torments Norah’s two children.  It’s an amazingly disturbing scene, one that is all the more upsetting because, in the title role, Perry King had previously done such a good job portraying Joel as being irresponsible but likable.  I don’t want to give too much away, beyond saying that the scene gave me nightmares and if you’re triggered by scenes of child abuse, you should not watch The Possession of Joel Delaney.

As I said, The Possession of Joel Delaney has never really gotten the credit that it deserves.  It’s always overshadowed by The Exorcist.  But if you want to see a truly scary film and if you like a little social satire mixed in with your horror, The Possession of Joel Delaney is one to track down.