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.
