Touches You

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

J.D's RevengeThe best way to tell if you've been possessed by an African American is if the police start arresting you for no reason.Unfortunately for the victim in this horror movie, he's already black himself.Sweet-talked into being the dupe for a hypnotist by his wife (Joan Pringle), law student Ike (Glynn Turman) instead becomes the unwitting vessel for the vengeful spirit of J.D. Walker (David McKnight), a New Orleans street hustler murdered in the 1950s.Adapting J.D's mannerisms and flamboyant attire, Ike unknowingly begins exacting revenge on Theotis Bliss (Fred Pinkard), the man who killed J.D's sister. The only person standing in Ike/J.D's way is Theotis' brother, Reverend Elijah (Louis Gossett Jr.).An intriguing fusion of Blaxploitation stereotypes and horror movie sensibilities, this cult classic can be as gruesome and violent as it can be campy and thrilling.Incidentally, in the 1950s black ghosts weren't allowed to haunt white families.Yellow Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

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.

Warning- Extensive spoilers--JD's Revenge was a horror thriller released in 1976. Hitting theaters near the wane of African-American themed genre films, it was released by American International Pictures, which had become perhaps the most prolific American studio to produce 'blaxploitation' movies.Glynn Turman stars as Ike Hendrix, taxi driver and law student in New Orleans, who has a live-in girlfriend, Chrisette (Joan Pringle). A night on the town with another couple brings the group to a stage hypnotism show. During the show, Ike somehow is possessed by the spirit of J.D. Walker (john smith), a local hoodlum active during the 1940s who met a violent end at a meatpacking plant. Shortly, Ike begins to exhibit odd behavior—he buys a vintage used hat, has frequent headaches, but soon his behavior becomes sinister as J.D.'s influence comes to the fore.Terrorizing cab riders and womanizing are among the sins J.D. commits with Ike's face. Of particular interest to J.D. is the reverend Elija Bliss, who pastors a popular church in town. As played by Gossett, Reverend Bliss likes to use boxing metaphors in his sermons; his brother Cleotis apparently handles the business affairs for the church, but based on his dialogue he is not remotely the believer that Elija seemingly is. Indeed, Cleotis 'reminds' Elija that the church is just a barely-veiled hustle, and sends some ushers to rough up Ike when he takes Elija's lustful daughter home.Pros New Orleans is an interesting change of pace from the most frequent genre settings of New York (Harlem) or Los Angeles. Bourbon Street and other locales are showcased. The film handles Ike's internal struggle fairly well—mild mannered and genial normally, smug and swaggering as J.D. By the film's climax the possessed Ike has permed his hair and bought a garish suit to complete his 'old-school' look. The principal and supporting actors all play it straight, which helps avoid a campy feel to what is already a high-concept story. Some unintentional humor is wrought from a doctor who suggests to stressed-out Ike that he smoke some marijuana to calm down. The same can be said for when the movie's main couples celebrate an anniversary at a topless nightclub. Slightly less humorous is Ike's pal coming up with a rather reaching justification for Ike's slapping around Chrisette while possessed.Cons The climax of the film sets up a revelation that clever viewers may likely have figured out beforehand. The epilogue is fairly cut and dry despite the fantastic series of events that just took place. Despite some mirror-image appearances, there is no verbal confrontation between Ike and J.D., which could have been interesting—instead, Ike just totally blacks out whenever J.D. takes over. There are also several subplots that the movie seems to ignore: Shortly after the possession takes place, Ike visits a pimp to place a numbers bet (hinting at a possible criminal past for Ike) but this is soon forgotten; Reverend Bliss' past suggests that he was not only a former boxer but that he was involved in some sort of racketeerism, and his current career as a pastor may not be completely on the up-and-up. Ike assaults a man after sleeping with his wife; despite Ike being identified as a suspect, this is forgotten by film's end. A possessed Ike sexually assaults Chrisette in an overlong sequence; juxtaposed with the rather pat resolution at the end, it makes her look gleefully forgiving when she should not be—on that note, most of the women in the film are murder victims, harshly abused or sexually loose.

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.