Abby (1974)

A possession film about a marriage counselor who becomes possessed by the demon of sexuality, when her father in law, an exorcist, freed it while in Africa. He returns home, along with his ... See full summary »

Director:

William Girdler

Writers:

William Girdler (story), Gordon Cornell Layne (screenplay) (as G. Cornell Layne)

Stars:

Carol Speed, William Marshall, Terry Carter

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

A possession film about a marriage counselor who becomes possessed by the demon of sexuality, when her father in law, an exorcist, freed it while in Africa. He returns home, along with his son and a policeman to perform an African exorcism on her.

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | one word title | forename as title | grindhouse film | psychotronic film | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Blaxorcist

Filming Locations:

Marengo Cave, Marengo, Indiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP), Hollywood West Entertainment, Mid-America Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Out of circulation for years after Warner Bros. sued American International claiming it was a ripoff of its film The Exorcist (1973). Although the film was very profitable (its budget was approx. $200,000 and it earned $4 million in its first month of release), director/producer William Girdler never saw a penny of it because of the lawsuit, which was settled shortly before he died in 1978.

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Quotes

Bishop Garnet Williams: Eshu is the most powerful of all earthly deities. Eshu is a trickster, creator of whirlwinds... chaos.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Rod Stewart (1981)

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Soundtracks

My Soul Is A Witness
Written and Performed by Carol Speed

User Reviews

Though one can't blame the Warner Bros. lawsuit because of similarities to its The Exorcist, AIP's Abby is a good horror thriller in its own right

Though I knew there were some DVD copies around, I guess I should thank YouTube for finally being able to watch this movie since that's where I discovered it. Having seen it, I can see why Warner Brothers sued and won their lawsuit against American International for blatantly copying WB's hit The Exorcist. Sure, the differences are that one involved a girl child and the other a grown woman but they both have shaking furniture and demonic possession in which they both say very vulgar things involving sex. Okay, with that out of the way, let me say what I think of it. I thought it was hilarious whenever the title character played by Carol Speed had-through the voice of Bob Holt-said all those blatantly provocative remarks to various people but after that, I managed to also find some genuine scares and thrills. Both Ms. Speed and William Marshall as Bishop Garnet Williams who tries to get the demon out of her provide great presence in their scenes together. But the supporting players of Terry Carter (Rev. Emmett Williams, Abby's husband and Garnet's son), Austin Stoker (Abby's brother Det. Cass Potter), and especially Juanita Moore (Miranda "Momma" Potter) also hold their own against them. If there's one thing I have a beef with, it's the print I watched. Perhaps because of that lawsuit, no one's bothered to restore it. So the one I saw looked washed out. Still, the sound wasn't bad so that's a plus. Really, all I'll say now is if you get the chance to watch Abby, go for it! P.S. How interesting that after not sharing a scene in The Mack, Ms. Speed and Ms. Moore played daughter and mother in this. And nice to hear Carol's writing and singing skills with the song "My Soul is a Witness".