Abby

The blaxploitation genre sometimes went into horror territory - everyone has heard of Blacula, most people have heard of Blackenstein but considerably less folks have heard of Abby. What this one was, was a black version of The Exorcist. It actually made millions at the box office on release but was pulled from theatres after Warner Bros accused producers AIP of ripping off their movie. And to this day it has barely been released on any format of home media and there is even a strongly believed theory that Warners not only put out a lawsuit but in fact confiscated all prints! All of this is a poor show from Warners really, as this is no more of a rip off than various other films from the time and its African voodoo element in fact gives it an entirely original angle.

Its story has a professor unwittingly unleashing a West African sex spirit in Nigeria, which goes on to possess a woman back in the U. S. This leads to her vomiting in church and exhibiting all manner of other anti-social behaviours. The title character is played with some energy and commitment by Carol Speed and Blacula actor William H Marshall takes on the gravitas role of the professor. It's a pretty good film overall and not as campy and silly as you may expect. Hopefully it will get a proper release on home media one day.