Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
Sanjeev Waters A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Phillida Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
edeighton I was really looking forward to seeing a Protestant exorcism. Had this movie actually been shot as intended that is what would have been displayed. At first blush this movie seems to indicate that the Black Baptist Bishop has a much easier time vanquishing Satan than the Catholic priests did in the original Exorcist movie. The priests in the original Exorcist sweated, bled, questioned their own faith and ultimately one of them died-sacrificing himself to beat Satan. Here William Marshal (Bishop Garnet Williams) did not even break a sweat as he maintained ultimate control from the start of the exorcism to the finish.But in a weird twist it is revealed that Abby is not possessed by the devil but rather by Eshu, a minor God from the Yorba (African) religion. Then it is revealed that Abby is not even possessed by the real Eshu, but rather by an even less significant spirit pretending to be the minor God, Eshu. And "Bishop" Williams does not banish the insignificant spirit in the name of Christ, but rather in the name of the main Yorba God, Allron and ultimately traps the spirit in Eshu's idol with help from Eshu. A rather anticlimactic exorcism.Why was this twist done at all? My research indicates that William Marshall only agreed to do the movie if he had some script control. William Marshall, the actor, was very interested in the Yorba religion and studied it intensely. In fact, William Marshall, the actor, lectured in several universities in the early 1970s about the Yorba religion. It is widely reported that William Marshall was unhappy that promised script revisions were not made. Ultimately, I believe that William Marshal himself ad-libbed the lines about it not being the real Eshu that possessed Abby. I also believe that William Marshal ad- libbed the lines about Allron being of equal power to the Judeo-Christian God and that the exorcism was being performed in Allron's name (later he calls upon the power of Eshu as well). Otherwise, the rest of the script does not make sense. William Marshal, the actor was promised script revisions that were not delivered, so he took matters in his own hands and changed the dialogue on the fly.Lots of gratuitous shots of fried chicken; literally served at every meal. Also bonus points if you can find the Shlitz beer product placement.
BA_Harrison Take the essential ingredients of William Friedkin's The Exorcist, add 'fros, flares, fried chicken and funky grooves, and what you have is Abby, the 1974 demonic blaxploitation flick from director William Girdler that unsurprisingly received a great deal of attention from a very unamused Warner Brothers legal department.Just like The Exorcist, the film's supernatural events are kick-started by the discovery of an ancient artifact by an elderly man of the cloth—in this case, it's a small carved box depicting the powerful sex demon Eshu that is unearthed by African-American bishop Garnet Williams (William Marshall). And just like The Exorcist, the discovery of this item results in a case of possession—only instead of a twelve year old girl, the victim is the bishop's daughter in law, Abby Williams (Carol Speed). Within a matter of days, God-fearing Christian Abby is transformed from a gospel singing pillar of the community into a blasphemous, vomiting, sex-mad harlot, eventually driving her desperate husband Rev. Emmett Williams (Terry Carter) to enlist the help of his father to cast out evil Eshu.Instead of the classy style of Friedkin's movie, Girdler's effort is cheap, trashy and unintentionally hilarious, which in my book makes it almost as entertaining as the film it so blatantly rips off. Speed attacks her performance with gusto, coughing, drooling, puking, speaking in guttural fashion, getting slutty with total strangers, and even appearing in cheesy demon make-up for several subliminal flashes that simply scream 'plagiarism'; meanwhile, those around her play their roles with absolute sincerity, doing their utmost to look concerned and frightened (but failing badly).Despite not being in the slightest bit original, shocking or scary, Abby is easily one of the most watchable (ie., funny) Exorcist rip-offs I have seen; I say 'get your mitts on a copy', even if it is the VHS-quality DVD release that seems to be the only version currently available.
Coventry Man, those big shots over at Warner Bros. have absolutely no sense of humor and/or brotherly spirit! Of course this Blaxploitation gem, as well as the Italian efforts "Beyond the Door" and "Lisa and the Devil", is an obvious rip-off of their smash hit "The Exorcist" ... Even the smallest child can see that. But was it really necessary to sue the makers and force them to take these drive-in favorites out of circulation? This is just my personal opinion, but these bizarre imitations are much more amusing than the real thing. The plots are far more over-the-top, the language & make-up effects are usually a lot more extreme and they always feature an (unintentionally?) comical atmosphere. "Abby" is a prime example of 70's fabulousness! The plot is nearly identical to "The Exorcist", but everything else is neatly adjusted to the "Blaxploitation" standards. We have a solid, experienced and charismatic cast, including William Marshall ("Blacula"), Austin Stoker ("Assault on Precinct 13") and Carol Speed ("The Mack") as the titular demon-possessed preacher's wife. When Bishop Williams accidentally releases the spirit of the malicious African deity Eshu, it somehow travels overseas and takes possession of the bishop's daughter-in-law Abby. The poor lady transforms from a deeply religious and loyal wife into a foul-mouthed, aggressive and luscious tramp. She talks with a deep voice, pukes all types of nasty-colored stuff and invades disco parties to seduce random black pimps. There's a minimum of tension and intellectual dialogs to be found in "Abby", but it's reasonably fast-paced and very entertaining. "Abby" is cheap and doesn't contain any real special effects (like rotating heads, for example), but still you should give it a chance. Perhaps I'm slightly biased, as I'm a giant fan of director William Girdler. He was one of the most versatile American horror directors of the 1970's, up until his tragic & premature death.
ironman4862 I saw this movie when I was child, 9yrs old to be exact. I how good this movie was and have always wanted to see it again and add it to my collection. Besides the Exorcist and the first Night Of The Livinng Dead (black and white version), this is one of the scariest movies I have ever seen and I don't scare easily. Actually, there aren't too many movies that have frightened me. My perception has changed quite a bit since I was a child, so I am eager to see this movie again to see if it is as good as I ed it. I know I will enjoy it, but to what extent though. I'm glad to know I can still find this movie, because I have looked everywhere. I was told the original was destroyed, because of a lawsuit back in the seventies. It would have been a tragedy to have destroyed such good movie. If anyone can tell me where I can get this movie I would greatly appreciate it.
