I have been trying to find a copy of ABBY for some time and tonight I have finally seen this supposedly lost treasure. Apparently, Warner Brothers Studios felt it was rip-off of THE EXORCIST and the film was pulled from circulation prematurely. It also was not seen on video or laser disk and only recently appeared on DVD. The print is horrid and looks as if someone sat with a video camera and recorded it as the film was being played--it was that bad. The colors were a mess, too--most of the film had a strong red tint to it. Additionally, there were scratches throughout--making it the ugliest quality DVD I have ever seen.
Well, despite the horrid quality of the disk, I do feel that the film is unique and not exactly a copy of THE EXORCIST. In fact, there are so many differences that it seems ludicrous today that Warner felt they had any claim at all to stop the film. Plus, quality-wise it wasn't like anyone would mistake ABBY for THE EXORCIST!! While the DVD extras proclaim it as a masterpiece and it "was NOT bad like the Blacula or Blackenstein movies", I heartily disagree. While I have yet to see BLACKENSTEIN, the Blacula movies (BLACULA and SCREAM BLACULA SCREAM) look like Academy Award winners compared to ABBY. Other than all three films starring William Marshall (a capable actor stuck in cheap films), they just don't compare. The Blacula films weren't bad at all and ABBY is a wretched film with wretched production values from start to finish. The acting, aside from Marshall, is very, very amateur, the sets and props looked bargain basement and the story was just silly. Worst of all, though, were the demon special effects that weren't much better than something you could make at home.
So what does all this add up to? Well, not a good movie, certainly...but also a movie that is fun to watch for its camp value. In other words, it's so stupid and so inane, that it's great for a laugh. So far in my life, I've seen about 50 so-called "blaxploitation" films and this is the worst--even worse than the dull Dolemite films. Now THAT'S bad!!
Well, despite the horrid quality of the disk, I do feel that the film is unique and not exactly a copy of THE EXORCIST. In fact, there are so many differences that it seems ludicrous today that Warner felt they had any claim at all to stop the film. Plus, quality-wise it wasn't like anyone would mistake ABBY for THE EXORCIST!! While the DVD extras proclaim it as a masterpiece and it "was NOT bad like the Blacula or Blackenstein movies", I heartily disagree. While I have yet to see BLACKENSTEIN, the Blacula movies (BLACULA and SCREAM BLACULA SCREAM) look like Academy Award winners compared to ABBY. Other than all three films starring William Marshall (a capable actor stuck in cheap films), they just don't compare. The Blacula films weren't bad at all and ABBY is a wretched film with wretched production values from start to finish. The acting, aside from Marshall, is very, very amateur, the sets and props looked bargain basement and the story was just silly. Worst of all, though, were the demon special effects that weren't much better than something you could make at home.
So what does all this add up to? Well, not a good movie, certainly...but also a movie that is fun to watch for its camp value. In other words, it's so stupid and so inane, that it's great for a laugh. So far in my life, I've seen about 50 so-called "blaxploitation" films and this is the worst--even worse than the dull Dolemite films. Now THAT'S bad!!