THE POSSESSED (1977)

Dir: Jerry Thorpe

Obscure and relatively forgotten little TV movie, The Possessed is among the best of a handful of small screen horrors attempting to cash in on the success of 1973's blockbuster The Exorcist. It is in fact far better than several theatrical releases intent upon the same, including but not limited to: Abby (197), Beyond the Door (1975) and The Godsend (1979). The plot is simplicity itself - a girls' boarding school is beset by mysterious fires of a supernatural origin - but remarkably effective, unmarred even by the proliferation of stock characters (a priest who has lost his faith, the spinsterish headmistress still carrying a romantic torch, ubiquitous naughty schoolgirls, embodied here by the very prototype of the 70s, PJ Soles) and a hurried ending typical of TV climaxes scheduled between commercial breaks. Production values add considerable charm to this thriller, with superb locations, cinematography that is vibrant yet moody, and an overall structure of restrained, growing menace. The wintery shots of the bleak campus and creepy old dorms drip with atmosphere, even further enhanced by an eerie electronic musical score and literate script.

Inexplicably, the second act of The Possessed descends from a tone of restrained dread to a reliance on hokey effects and demonic bodily contortions (yup, the bedeviled headmistress ends up groaning terrifically and vomiting nails). Plenty more however to recommend here, from a strong cast (Joan Hackett, James Farrantino, Diana Scarwid, Harrison Ford and more) to the ambivalence of the final minutes, with a gaping mystery surrounding one of the characters striking an emotional chord with viewers. Try finding all that today in one of the triple-budgeted Lifetime network thrillers.