Abby (1974)

Director:

William Girdler

Writers:

William Girdler (story)
Gordon Cornell Layne (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 December 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

The Devil took her for his lover! Her body is possessed, her soul is next!

Plot:

A possession film about a marriage counselor who becomes possessed by a Demon of Sexuality, when her father in law...

Plot Keywords:

Exorcism | Possession | Demon | Psychotronic | Smuggling

Cast

William Marshall	...	Bishop Garnet Williams
Terry Carter	...	Rev. Emmett Williams
Austin Stoker	...	Det. Cass Potter
Carol Speed	...	Abby Williams
Juanita Moore	...	Miranda 'Momma' Potter
Charles Kissinger	...	Dr. Hennings
Elliott Moffitt	...	Russell Lang
Nathan Cook	...	Tafa Hassan
Nancy Lee Owens	...	Mrs. Wiggins
William P. Bradford	...	Dr. Rogers (as Billy Bradford)
Joann Holcomb	...	Lois
Claude Fulkerson	...	Benny
Bill Wilson	...	Dan
Charles Broaddus	...	Joe (as Chuck Broadus)
Don Henderson	...	Flip

Also Known As:

Possess My Soul

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

France:-12 | USA:R | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

The song that Abby sings in church, "Is Your Soul A Witness?", was written and performed by the actress herself, Carol Speed.

Quotes:

The Demon's voice: I don't need you! I've got Abby!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Rod Stewart (#7.1)" (1981)

Soundtrack:

Will We Find Our Tomorrows

A good dose of 1970's "demon possession" horror.

Garnet Williams, a minister and professor (the always commanding William Marshall), is on an archaeological dig in Nigeria when he happens to unleash a demon that makes its home inside his sweet-faced and adorable daughter-in-law, the titular character (Carol Speed). Begged to come home by his son Emmett (Terry Carter), himself a minister, Garnet does battle with the foul-mouthed and talkative demon with additional assistance from Abbys' brother, Cass (Austin Stoker).

While this films' reputation as the target of an infamous lawsuit launched by Warner Bros. at the time of its release, claiming that this film ripped off "The Exorcist" a little too much, may precede it, I find that unfortunate, as this film is energetic and fun. The cast really gives it a solid effort, with Speed flamboyantly camping it up once possessed, assisted by the vocal performance of Bob Holt as the voice of the demon. The incessant, sexually charged, profanity-laced patter gets to be a bit much after a while, although I can't deny the outrageousness of one scene in which the possessed Abby is dispensing some highly unusual advice to a married couple.

70's schlock cinema master William Girdler crafts some decent set pieces. It's also cheap and cheesy at times, but that's part of its charm. When all is said and done, it's not something people should take all that seriously, especially when the climactic exorcism takes place in a nightclub!

It's worth checking out if you can find a copy; you could certainly do a lot worse.

7/10