Possessed by the Night

 (1994)

by Tuna

Possessed by the Night is another masterpiece from the prolific Fred Olin Ray, and is chiefly notable for T&A, although it has one foot in horror and one in erotic thriller.

An elderly Chinese couple arrive at the back of their Chinatown curio shop with a pick-up full of treasures. A loan shark enforcer arrives, but when he sees one of the items in the truck, a preserved embryo of a mutated animal in a jar, he suddenly backs off. It seems the creature in the jar is not quite dead, and has an evil influence over anyone around it. Those who come in contact with the embryo seem to crave sex, and have urges to choke the living snot out of everyone they are not having sex with.

Cut to a writer and his wife (Sandahl Bergman) having normal, embryo-free sex. He is experiencing writers' block, but his manager is in debt to the same loan shark introduced earlier, and is pressuring him to finish his latest novel. The writer takes a walk to clear his head and look for inspiration, wanders into the Chinese curio shop and buys the embryo. He arrives home, and his manager is there with a secretary (Shannon Tweed) to help him finish the novel.

That set-up got me thinking there would be a real plot.

Wrong.

Based on the first ten minutes, I would have the low IMDb score terribly unfair, because the story really seemed to have possibilities. Adding breast and bums and simulated sex to a good plot is normally a good thing, but it doesn't work when the T&A becomes the entire movie, and that's what happened here -  except for some nonsense with a bargain monster shown in hilarious close-up too many times. There was simply no more plot to pad out the nudity and sex. All of the performers were capable of acting and the characters were set up properly, but the screenplay just did not fully use them.

 

 

 

Our Grade:

If you are not familiar with our grading system, you need to read the explanation, because the grading is not linear. For example, by our definition, a C is solid and a C+ is a VERY good movie. There are very few Bs and As. Based on our descriptive system, this film is a:

C-/D

The score depends on how you define the genre. If you watch softcore films for the nudity alone, this meets the bill with good nudity from some of the top shelf women of the genre (C-). If you expect a real movie to go with your nudity, you will be sorely disappointed (D). The nudity is all she wrote.

Possessed by the Night DVD Sandahl Bergman Shannon Tweed (1994)

RLDVDs wrote:

Sandahl Bergman... Shannon Tweed... and as if it was needed... Amy Rochelle too! This is a very rare title on DVD and this import is superior to other releases of the same film, and is incredibly rare. When this went out of print with the manufacturer, we bought all the stock we could, so we'll bring this to you as long as we can.... when we run out though, we'll be out forever! So don't delay in getting Shannon's best and rarest! (It is also modestly priced at $14.95. Click on image abore for details.)

THE CRITICS AND ACADEMIES

No major reviews online.

THE PEOPLE

   
3.3 IMDB summary (of 10)

THE BOX OFFICE

Straight to video.

NUDITY REPORT

There is excellent nudity from three of the usual suspects.

  • Sandahl Bergman, then 43, looked wonderful showing breasts and buns.
  • Shannon Tweed stole the show exercising in a loose top and no bra, sweat glistening, and also showed her breasts in a hot sex scene.
  • Amy Rochelle showed her breasts while giving a massage to the loan shark.