The Possession of Nurse Sherri

The Possession of Nurse Sherri

Like myself, I'm sure many of you will have read about or at least heard the names Al Adamson and Sam Sherman in connection with some of the schlockiest old Drive-In exploitation shockers from many years ago. But also like myself, you may not yet have had the opportunity to experience their work. To be bluntly honest I was somewhat wary of what I was letting myself in for when I popped 'The Possession of Nurse Sherri' into the trusty old DVD player - but I'll give anything a bash at least once!

The film opens out in the desert where we meet a slightly insane necromancer (well that's what they call him) and his team of loyal but hapless middle class cult followers as they bide their time waiting over an unfortunate corpse, hoping that their non-existent powers will bring it back to life. After days of nothing whatsoever happening (apart from the body decaying under the hot sun of course) our luckless guru clutches his chest and keels over with what seems like a heart attack (well it's a good way to get out of an awkward situation eh?!) He's rushed into hospital but dies on the operating table but that's not the end of things (god forbid) as his spirit soon possesses a passing nurse (per the films title) and many amusing B-movie antics soon follow!

Yeah I know, what the heck sorta plot is this?! And yes there isn't much to it, but the delivery makes it all the more fun for those new to Adamson and Sherman's work. But before I go on you should take note of this important factor about this particular disc...the lovely folk at Retro Shock-O-Rama have presented us with two versions of the movie. Now when I first checked out the packaging I noted that the main feature runs a full three minutes longer than the alternative bonus version so I automatically thought that the longer print would just be some sort of directors cut version. I was wrong.

First up for my viewing pleasure was the longer main print which was a mixed bag of Drive-In and 70's TV movie feel. The sort of film you used to see late night on TV and pretty much forget about two weeks later, only for the name to come back and haunt you years down the line "I'm sure I recognise that name from somewhere!" Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the viewing experience as I do derive great pleasure from vintage B-movie fun. There's some juicy bad acting, hilarious dialogue, a spot of gore and one of the cheesiest laughable possession effects scenes that I've ever seen (The Entity was never like this!) By no means a classic, but a pretty middle of the road fun genre movie affair. But it is when you move onto the alternative print that the film comes to life as a whole.

The shorter alternative print covers the ground of the main feature pretty much the same, but it takes an entirely different slant that put a great big grin on my face and I found myself loving this B-movie schlocker so much more. The alternate version opens with the title just being 'Nurse Sherri' and the film has a far sleazier slant to it with some great alternate scenes including one sizeable one where Sherri (who is played by the buxomly gorgeous Jill Jacobson, phoaw!) is romping in bed with her surgeon lover Peter, where they discuss (and we are shown) their most bizarre sexual experience (he he). This cut of the film delights in showing off Jill Jacobson's naked (and shapely) form, complete with a nice flash of her quim (per long shot) that you'd never have guessed was filmed when viewing the longer cleaner print. There's also another cool bonus scene where one of Sherri's nurse colleagues strips down and jumps into bed with her blind patient, also adding a new slant to the extended version viewed before. All round, the alternate print brings a lot of fun to the movie as a whole as it retains the bad acting and ludicrous dialogue but adds a sexy edge to it which is more than welcome in my books.

That's not all that makes this package from 'Retro Shock-O-Rama' such a well rounded of genre movie fun. There's a delightful commentary on the extended print by Sam Sherman who goes into great detail (and with great honesty) about the film and the Drive-In production scene (with a nice tip of respect to the late Al Adamson). And to wrap the whole deal off nicely is the Trailer and TV Spot for the films original release, and what a laugh they are too (well they rate the film up there with The Exorcist et al!) Finally, there's Seduction Cinema/Shock-O-Rama's vault of release trailers that truly does whet your appetite to delve into some of their other releases (well I for one am very much keen to check out all their 'Retro' line now!)

If you're a fan of the Drive-In genre you'll be thrilled with this delightful package from Retro Shock-O-Rama. Sure the films no classic but its delivery here in a perfect all round package should be enough to justify checking it out. Nice one - keep 'em coming!

Review by Alan Simpson

'The Possession of Nurse Sherri' can be ordered direct from Alternative Cinema by clicking here.


 
Released by Retro Shock-O-Rama
Directed by Al Adamson
Region 1 NTSC DVD
Running time: approx 88 & 85 mins
Special features:
Alternate print of main feature, Audio commentary by Sam Sherman, Film & TV Trailers, Seduction Cinema/Shock-O-Rama Trailer Vault.
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