Rache aus dem Jenseits

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!

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.

Found half-hidden in the back of my local video store, the cheesy packaging made it look like a tongue in cheek blaxploitation horror movie good for a few laughs. But the packaging misled, this is a surprisingly serious and effective supernatural revenge thriller. Nice guy cabbie/law student Ike (Glynn Turman - 'Cooley High') becomes possessed by nasty Forties pimp J.D. Walker (David McKnight). Ike/J.D. is intent on avenging the murder of his sister. Local Preacher Reverend Bliss (b-grade favourite Lou Gossett Jr.) is somehow involved.

Not a great movie, but a good one, and worth watching for Turman's excellent double turn if nothing else. This movie deserves to be better known.

J.D.'s Revenge (1976)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

This blaxploitation film starts off in the 1940s as a man is shot dead by some mobsters. Fast-forward to the current times and law student Isaac (Glynn Turman) is out with his girlfriend and friends when he is hypnotized. It doesn't take long for something to snap in Isaac and before he knows it he's got the spirit of the dead man in him and he goes seeking revenge.

J.D.'s REVENGE is a pretty good blaxploitation movie that not only pay homage to the various gangster classics but it also has a touch of the Jekyll and Hyde storyline. I'm a little surprised that this film isn't better known among fans of the genre because the picture is quite sleazy at times and features all the terrific dialogue and situations that you'd expect.

I think some of the best moments happen towards the end and especially when the Isaac character begins to change and become more and more like a gangster rather than his "good" self. Turman does a very good job in the role as he's basically playing two different parts and he's quite believable in both. I especially liked him in the role of the bad guy and I thought the actor did a marvelous job at switching back and forth between the characters as well as the multiple personalities of the bad guy. You also get some nice supporting performances including Louis Gossett, Jr. as a Reverend with a few secrets of his own.

The horror elements of the picture are good for what they are but I think a lot of people will be shocked to see how sleazy the movie is. There's all sorts of nudity as well as a couple graphic sex scenes that help make the picture stand out. You've also got that "jive" or hip style of talking throughout and this too adds to the entertainment. J.D.'S REVENGE might not be the most original movie out there but there are a lot of good elements that make it worth watching.

A solid standout from most Black flicks of the middle 70's, JD's Revenge provided an early platform for Glynn Turman (Cooley High) to prove his acting prowess. By playing essentially two characters at once, Turman's passion for the roles combines with the spookiness of the New Orleans setting for memorable results. Louis Gossett plays an excellent preacher with a sordid past. The horror edge of this film is a little heavy-handed, but it is considerably better than most of the genre. A great Black thriller.