Repossessed

Dir: Bob Logan

1990

***

Parody films became increasingly popular during the 80s and well into the 90s, largely thanks to Airplane and other comedies staring Leslie Nielsen – particularly Naked Gun which revisited comedy character Frank Drebin after the short-lived TV show Police Squad. Bob Logan was actually one of the first to get in on the action and as much as 1990’s Repossessed was poorly received, it stands as one of Nielsen’s better spoofs. I personally think it has aged surprisingly well, especially when compared to most of the films of its kind made since. I think the title I still one of the funniest things about the film, the film being a parody of 1973 horror classic The Exorcist. The film’s great coup was of course the fact that the original star of The Exorcist, Linda Blair, agreed to reprise her role. The film begins with Father Jebediah Mayii (Leslie Nielsen) casting out the devil from the body of young Nancy Aglet (Linda Blair). Seventeen years later, in 1990, Nancy's body is possessed once again, however, while watching The Ernest and Fanny Miracle Hour, a religious broadcast. After a visit to the hospital, and a visit from Father Luke Brophy (Anthony Starke), Brophy concludes that Nancy is indeed possessed. Mayii, however, refuses to perform the exorcism, claiming he is too weak, and that both he and Nancy barely survived her previous exorcism. Brophy then visits the Supreme Council for Exorcism Granting. Ernest and Fanny (Ned Beatty and Lana Schwab) of The Ernest and Fanny Miracle Hour are also present. Ernest concludes that an exorcism is warranted, and convinces the Council to televise Nancy's exorcism. They agree, believing it will convert millions, so Ernest presents Ernest and Fanny's Exorcism Tonight to the network. Feeling he may be needed, Mayii visits "Bods-R-Us", a gymnasium, to restore his physical strength. There, Brophy approaches him, informs him of the televised exorcism, and attempts once more to convince Mayii to conduct the exorcism, though he refuses again. The night of Nancy's exorcism arrives, presented by Ernest and Fanny. After a montage of attempts to free Nancy's body using phone donations, song, and insults ("You're so tough, how come you possessed a woman's body?"), Ernest and Fanny's Exorcism Tonight is announced as having the largest audience in history. Upon hearing this, the devil, in Nancy's body, sets the studio on fire, causing the audience to flee. He reveals to Ernest and Fanny that he used them to get the largest audience, and turns them into a pantomime horse. Using the camera, the devil tries to claim the souls of the viewing audience, but is stopped by Brophy, who destroys the camera. The devil announces he knows another way to claim their souls, and runs away, heading for a satellite transmitter. He is pursued by religious figures from around the world, who have gathered at Brophy's command. Brophy teases the devil about his defeat to Mayii. Back in the studio, the devil successfully uses the camera to lure Mayii to him for a rematch. The exorcism, with commentary by "Mean Gene" Okerlund and Jesse "The Body" Ventura, is ineffective until the devil mentions that he hates Rock 'n Roll. Turning the TV studio into a live concert, the song "Devil with a Blue Dress On" is played to the devil by the various religious figures, including The Pope on guitars. The devil is tormented so that he is finally driven from Nancy's body, declaring "I'll be back!". It’s fair to say that many of the jokes fall flat, but when they work, they really work. The humour is absurd and ridiculous and, I would argue, fairly universal. It’s certainly never offensive and I personally think it is hard to dislike, unless you’ve never seen The Exorcist, then it’s just going to be confusing. In all honesty the story isn’t too bad either, and many a horror film, good and bad, have had worse ideas. It all comes back to Leslie Nielsen, his performance and his lovability, as well as Linda Blair’s good sportsmanship and surprisingly good comedy timing. I’m also a big Ned Beatty fan, so I couldn’t help but love it and I have to admit I still have a soft spot for it.