Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Repossessed (1990)


An exclusive review from Zombie Actor John Migliore's book 'Cinema Parodyso'

Repossessed is not a sequel to The Exorcist. Who ever said that it was one? Repossessed is a comedy, not a horror flick... right? There's just one little snag in that kind of logic. There are so many similarities between the two movies that Repossessed invites a great deal of comparison to the classic film it is mimicking. At times, the producers of Repossessed seem intent on making a remake of The Exorcist (albeit a comedic one). 

The final result is a film that is neither entirely funny nor the least bit scary. Veteran funnyman, Leslie Nielsen stars as Father Jedediah Mayii, a retired exorcist with a bum ticker. Unfortunately, Nielsen just seems to be going through the motions in this horrific parody. He's done films like this before (Airplane!, The Naked Gun!), but doesn't seem particularly inspired by the material this time around. On the other hand, the movie wouldn't be half as funny without him. 

The real surprise performance comes from Linda Blair who plays Nancy Aglet, the repossessed victim. Blair starred in the first two Exorcist films and was successful in shocking audiences both times around. In Repossessed, she lampoons her previous role with comedic timing and flawless insight. She is able to make her character seem both comical and charming at the same time. 

So where did it all go wrong? Well, I'm not so sure that organized religion is really all that funny. Repossessed takes a cavalier attitude toward its subject matter, which might offend some non-secular people. Don't get me wrong, this movie doesn't have a political agenda, but some people may have trouble seeing the humor in a few of the situations. 

Repossessed does have one saving grace (Get it? I still got it!) and that would be its constant bombardment of jokes and gags. It's hard to be offended when the producers pack a large number of potential laughs into each and every scene. Some of them fall short... some of them are total groaners... but enough of them hit the mark to make this an enjoyable movie. May the Faith be with you! 

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1 comment:

  1. I've always rather enjoyed this flick, mainly because I love Nielsen, like you mentioned Blair really makes this movie standout in my mind.

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