MovieChat Forums > Abby (1974) Discussion > Ok, low budget aside....

Ok, low budget aside....

posted 14 years ago by Flywiththeowl
6 replies | jump to latest

..And unintentional humor aside as well, we ALL know that it was a near scene for scene 'Exorcist' ripoff. What *I* wanna know is- did the writers & producers NOT think that such an obvious ripoff would lead to legal trouble??

But anyway, Man, what I wouldn't give to hear what the surviving actors have to say about it today! I clearly recall being a kid in the '70s & hearing a radio promo for it & IT. Scared. The S*** outta me! Lol!
Also, I would LOVE to read feedback from people who saw it in the '70s. (which I'm sure is a quite limited # of people since it got yanked from theaters pretty fast) I wanna know if, at the time, it was actually considered scary or did kids go to see if for a laugh.

[–] allaboutlydia2003 10 years ago

It was pretty funny to me (I own a copy). Some people say it was a combination of fright and funny. Although the producers of Abby were sued by the producers of The Exorcist... the producers of Abby eventually won their case. You can purchase it on amazon (at least that's where I obtained my copy).

[–] heyteegs 10 years ago

Abby has all the interstitial frames of Eshu's face incorporated into the movie. Interestingly, Pazuzu's face in The Exorcist is only incorporated into The Version You've Never Seen which was first released in the late 90s and not the original release. So now who's copying who?

btw, pazuzu t shirt if interested:

http://skreened.com/crewdtees/pazuzu

[–] ElectricWarlock 10 years ago

They do have their similarities, but I think both movies are both enjoyable in different ways. I love horror movies dealing with the supernatural and I also love horror movies from the '70s so I was pretty much guaranteed to like this.

[–] WarpedRecord 8 years ago

Though I tremendously respect you for your Rush icon, I must respectfully disagree on this being a near scene-for-scene ripoff of "The Exorcist."

This film is about an adult woman possessed by a West African sex spirit; "The Exorcist" is about a young girl's possession by a demon as manifested by a supposedly imaginary friend, and not a single scene takes place in a disco. Certainly this film owes and lot to "The Exorcist," as do hundreds of horror films, but I don't think this is a scene-for-scene ripoff.

[–] Flywiththeowl 8 years ago

WR- I hear ya. There are def' superficial differences. I mean, they couldn't simply remake the Exorcist with black actors. Some tweaking had to be done. But to my eyes, they came damn close to it. At the very least, they unapologetically hopped the Exorcist bandwagon preeeeeeetty closely & the producers were punished for it.
But like you said, plenty of films owe a lot to The Exorcist. (eg: "Beyond the Door")

Thanks for noticing the Rush avatar, btw! :) Loved em for years, seen em 8x!

[–] WarpedRecord 8 years ago

"Abby" is indeed heavily influenced by "The Exorcist." The concept of the scenes follows the same trajectory – source of evil is unleashed, innocent female gets possessed and causes harm and shock to her loved ones, exorcist(s) get(s) the dirty job done, and all is well. But I think Warner Bros. had little to worry about here because this is so clearly in the shadows of a much better film. If anything, the two films could exist side by side, with "The Exorcist" leaving this in shreds.

As for Rush, I've been loving them for 40 years now. They sort of lost me in the '80s when they shifted more to synthesizers than guitars, but I came back to them. I still have yet to see them in concert, and the time is running out – for both of us.