J.D.'s Revenge

Glynn Turman plays Isaac "Ike" Hendricks, an amiable law student in New Orleans. One night, in the company of his girl and his friends, he decides to undergo hypnosis, just for the hell of it. However, this enables a restless spirit named J.D. Walker (David McKnight) to possess Ikes' body, all in the name of revenge. J.D. was a lowlife criminal who'd been made to look guilty for a womans' murder back during the WWII era. Now the possessed Ike starts to sound and act like J.D., and indulge in various unsavoury pursuits while going about this mission of vengeance. A very engaging cast helps to make this watchable. It's never a great film but it is a decent and enjoyable one. Producer / director Arthur Marks injects lots of grisly slaughterhouse imagery into the proceedings, which get fairly bloody and intriguing if never exactly scary. The movie goes a fair distance on the performances by young Turman ("Cooley High", "Gremlins", "John Dies at the End"). Naturally, he does look to be having a fine time when called upon to imitate McKnight in his portrayal of the slick and creepy J.D. Louis Gossett Jr. is very lively as the reformed criminal turned flamboyant preacher who also figures into the plot. The cute Joan Pringle is a likable leading lady as she plays Ikes' girl Christella. Also fine in support are Carl W. Crudup, Julian Christopher, Fred Pinkard, the stunningly beautiful Alice Jubert, and Earl Billings. McKnight conveys plenty of oily menace as the revenge-crazed spirit. Rhonda Shear and Bob Minor have bit parts. Worth a look alongside other genre crossovers such as "Abby" and "Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde". Seven out of 10.

"J.D.'s Revenge" is a simply there possession film without a whole lot going for it either way. **SPOILERS** In the middle of New Orleans, Ike, (Glynn Turman) and his girlfriend Christella, (Joan Pringle) try not to let his celebrity status affect their fun. Hitting a popular nightclub, he goes on stage for a hypnotism act and falls under, emerging from the experience seeing strange visions of the murder of an unknown woman in an animal slaughterhouse. Concerned nothing is wrong, he continues on with his life until he runs into Reverend Elija Bliss, (Lou Gossett) and he learns that the trouble has been caused by being possessed by a gangster who had a run-in with him years ago, and is now seeking revenge for being wrongly executed back then. Switching between personalities as he carries on his mission, they try to stop him before he is able to complete his blood-lust through the possession. The Good News: There wasn't a whole lot to this one that really worked. One of the best ones is that it changes the rules around the whole possession angle. That this one has the male get possessed leads to some really nice moments, as the changes are going to stick out much easier compared to others, which is what is needed to sell the change. That also gives the later half of the film, with the real revenge getting carried through in real gang-land traditions is a lot of fun. From the confrontation in the Church to the fight in the meat factory, it has some really good stuff to it, action-packed while leaving closely enough to the horror elements through the changes which give it some extra pull. The different ways that the film presents the change, from outright changes to the flashing between the two with the same characteristics is rather nice and give the film a little more to it. The last big plus is the really inventive manner of the possession, here done through the rather harmless hypnotism scene. It comes with a great way of doing so that is completely innocent and really rather new. These here are the film's good points. The Bad News: There wasn't a whole lot to this one at all. The fact that the film doesn't have much action at all, either normal action or horror action, is a pretty big effect on the film. It makes for some really dull moments as there's nothing much happening during that state. It happens during most of the movie, which is the worst part of all of this. It's really just dull for an incredibly long time of the film, and that's something which can really hurt the film. What also ruins this is that the tactics used to indicate that the possession has occurred don't have all that horrific a tag attached to them. Merely wearing a different style of clothes or hanging out with different sets of people are warning signs something's wrong, not something that is used to generate scares from. It's fine to have them as supplanted tools for the actual possession, otherwise this one shouldn't be based solely on such non-frightening motives for such a scary motive. The last flaw is that there's way too many scenes in the animal slaughterhouse. It's unnecessary, is morally disturbing to keep showing that scene over and over again, and does nothing for the film. That alone is one of the major things holding the film down, and all with the other areas are the film's flaws. The Final Verdict: While not entirely without flaws, the good parts to this one are really just kinda there anyway and overall it's just mediocre. If there's something appealing about the genre or the film or just plain curious, then give this one a shot, otherwise it's best to proceed with caution. Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Nudity, several sex scenes, a rape scene and animal slaughter

According to the people who made that documentary entitled "The 50 Worst Films Ever Made", this mixture between horror and blaxploitation is irredeemably awful and hopeless. Luckily their opinions don't mean a damn thing to me and decided to watch it anyway. What I saw was a reasonably cool blaxploitation variant on "The Exorcist" with a strong first half and a sadly disappointing climax. The opening sequences are terrific and take place in the New Orleans of 1942. Loud-mouthed thug JD Walker is wrongfully accused of murdering his pregnant sister and executed on the spot by the real culprit; a jealous local big shot. Thirty years later in present New Orleans, the young law student and part-time taxi driver Ike volunteers to be hypnotized in a sleazy nightclub and becomes possessed with the vengeful spirit of J.D. Ike first suffers from a series of visions, showing in episodes what overcome to the real J.D, and from there onwards he becomes an instrument for extracting vengeance. With a sharp razor ready to cut anyone who crosses his path, Ike goes after Elijah Bliss – the brother who knocked up J.D's sister but nowadays pretends to be a devoted preacher. Okay, so here we have an obscure blaxploitation outsider with a relatively original premise, nifty set-up and a couple of really strong sequences during the first half hour. So this is great stuff, right? Not exactly, no… In spite of a satisfying first half and overall very enthusiast acting performances from the ensemble cast, "J.D.'s Revenge" inexplicably turns into a boring and cowardly lame film. Cowardly, because it never fully dares to develop into a horror flick and merely remains a prototypic blaxploitation effort with magnified clichés, like overlong preaches and exaggerated gangster stereotypes. One too many scenes of misogynist violence, too.

Accomplished, but unspectacular blaxploitation horror with a tremendously ripe lead performance by Glynn Turman in presenting two very different (from placid to extreme) personalities. He plays a genuinely high flying and collected law student Isaac that during a hypnosis session experiences shocking visions and begins to undergo a personality change of a brutally hot-headed and jive-talking 1940's street hustler J.D. Walker. Through flashbacks that erupted in Isacc's mind we learn that J.D was wrongly accused of murder and then killed. Now he's seeking revenge beyond the grave and he's using Isaac to do so. Director Arthur Macks doesn't generate anything particularly frightening with the flipped-out supernatural current, but works well with the gritty and murky air to cement tough groundwork. There is a ruthlessly razor-sharp vibe throughout, even though the make-up is cheaply done, it's Turman's tour-de-force performance that sells it. Despite a well-rounded story, there are moments in the script that seem to linger and succumb to repetitiveness with a conclusion that feels all too convenient. Robert Prince's unhinged music amusingly experiments with psychedelic sounds from foreboding electronic stings to funky cues. The rest of the performances are efficiently fair with Louis Gossett Jr. and Joan Pringle.

The previous comment is misleading. The story starts out with JD a 1940's Gangster and all around pretty "bad" guy. His woman is killed by another gangster with a slash to the throat. Another gangster comes in and sees him standing over the body and shoots him to death. Flash forward to the 70's, a mild mannered law student and taxi driver goes to a hypnotists show. He is plucked from the audience and hypnotized. After the show he starts acting strangely and violently (even beats up his girlfriend). Somehow he is now possessed by the gangster. It also turns out that the man who killed him (Lou Gosset Jr.) is now a preacher in the neighborhood. Then things get even more interesting.

This is a startling movie starring Glynn Turman and Louis Gossett Jr. Here Glynn Turman is the innocent laid-back Ike who is a law student. Then he becomes possessed by a violent fornicating 1940s gangster. This reminds me of a Jekyel and Hyde movie. The setting of the movie is gloomy and the flashback scenes couldn't be any more eerier. The way he slapped around actress Joan Pringle when he (Glynn) was JD seem so real. To me this role fits Glynn Turman because he does it so naturally. If you are in for some suspense and thriller from the old school. This is the movie to check out.

A classy film for those who like personality-disorder flicks. A Law Student (Glynn Turman) participates in a hypnotist show, only to have the soul of a deceased gangster enter his body! J.D.'s Revenge happens to be one of my personal favorites because you can enjoy it on a campy level as well as a partial horror flick. Also has an early performance by Lou Gosset Jr. Watch for J.D.'s famous one-liners!

New Orleans, 1942: Vicious, abusive hoodlum J.D. Walker (a sneering, splendidly nasty turn by David McNight) slices a woman's throat with a switchblade, then gets promptly shot dead for committing the brutal, heinous misdeed. Cut to New Orleans in 1976: Sweet, likable, struggling law student Ike (frequent second banana co-star actor Glynn Turman, giving a fine, engaging performance in a rare substantial lead part) is possessed by J.D.'s malevolent, vindictive spirit, which transforms Ike from a harmless, mild-mannered college kid into a vile, lethal, womanizing, straight razor-toting cad who exacts a terrible revenge upon all those individuals responsible for J.D.'s untimely demise. One of the best, most frightening and effective entries in the short-lived 70's blaxploitation horror craze (prime examples of this nifty sub-genre include both "Blacula" movies, "Abby," and "Sugar Hill"), "J.D.'s Revenge" emphasizes mood over violence, with seasoned B-picture veteran Arthur ("Bonnie's Kids," "Bucktown") Marks' typically sturdy, stylish, self-assured direction and Jaison Starkes' craftily plotted script deftly milking the creepy, mysterious, unsettling Southern Gothic-style ambiance for all its worth. Said scary gloom-doom tone, further reinforced by a vivid evocation of that uniquely lazy, luscious and exotic Big Easy atmosphere and Marks' ever dark sense of humor, insinuates itself upon the viewer in a low-key, yet forceful manner. The always great Louis Gossett, Jr. offers a dazzling, dynamic portrayal of Elijah Bliss, a flashy, grand-standing, two-faced preacherman with something to hide. The lovely Joan Pringle is strong and sympathetic as Ike's concerned girlfriend Christella. Harry May's gorgeous, polished cinematography gives the film a sumptuous professional sheen which totally bellies the low budget. The eerie, groovy, understated score by Robert Prince (who also co-wrote the forgettable ending credits theme song "I'll Never Let You Go") is likewise on the money fine. Reportedly one of Samuel Jackson's longtime favorite movies, this baby rates as a real nice one all around. And Turman does wonders in a touch, demanding part; ironically, Turman was ultimately dissatisfied with how the film turned out.

I recently saw a documentary called "The Fifty Worst Movies" (a title and concept they ripped off from the book by the same title). Since I like to occasionally laugh at a bad film, I decided to get a copy of "J.D.'s Revenge". However, the movie wasn't nearly bad enough to be in the documentary (and this could be said of many of the selected films). Sure, it was bad (far worse than many of the IMDb reviews would indicate) but the basic concept of the film isn't really bad at all--it's just that the horrible acting by Glynn Turman as "J.D." and the writing combined for a very bad paranormal blaxploitation film. Turman plays a nice guy who is going to law school and driving a cab. His wife manages to convince the overly studious guy to take a night off and go on the town with some friends. While a participant in a stage hypnosis show, the spirit of J.D. somehow creeps into him and slowly begins to reveal itself. This really wasn't explained well and was a bit confusing as to the how and why. Regardless, this isn't a huge problem. The huge problem is that the character of J.D. is almost like a combination of Steppin' Fetchit and Scarface!! The guy that Turman becomes is a giant walking negative stereotype of a 40s Black man and it's not even close to being subtle or clever--just rather silly and often offensive. What's worse is that some of J.D.'s behaviors were just cruel and made the film, at times, tough to watch. All the nudity wasn't the problem (though there was a lot), but when he rapes his wife and treats women like garbage I cringed and felt it was perhaps pandering to some that might actually enjoy seeing this sort of violence. This is certainly NOT a film that would receive the Betty Friedan seal of approval!! Turman's stupid characterization (which I blame on him and the writers) is a real shame, as there really was a decent story idea underneath all this crap (which included repeated and unnecessary shots of cows being slaughtered among other things). A man wrongly killed who returns from the dead years later to set things right is an exciting idea and how all this was worked out in the end was far more clever than I would have expected given the overall tone of the movie. Lou Gossett's character and his on-screen brother really were interesting and complex--too bad J.D. was just an idiot! By the way, Turman playing a jive-talking 40s punk reminds me of Robert Townsend's film "Hollywood Shuffle" as the film laments that the only roles for Black men in films are pimps, drug dealers and the like (which was very true until recently).

The "possession by a vengeful ghost" storyline had probably gotten to be old and hokey already by 1976, yet a good movie that can make you feel the emotional drive of revenge could still have made such a story seem new and fresh. Here, the possessed hero seems more concerned with raping and insulting his girlfriend than with taking his revenge. This results in a rather plodding pace. I don't even know why I'm bothering to think about this film any longer; it's doubtful whether you should bother watching it. (**)