Repossessed (Von Allen Geistern Besessen) Blu-ray Review + 1080p Screenshots + Packaging Shots

Studio: Turbine Medien
Release Date: September 14th, 1990 (theatrical) / March 27th, 2025 (blu-ray)
Run Time: 1 hour 24 minutes 27 seconds (HD version) / 1 hour 24 minutes 13 seconds (Retrofassung (Retro Version)
Region Code: FREE

Disc Count: 1 (BD-50)
Picture: 1080p (1.85:1 aspect ratio) (HD version) / 480p (1.33:1 aspect ratio) (retro version)
Sound: Deutsch DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Deutsch DTS 2.0 / English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English DTS 2,0 (main version) / Deutsch DTS 2.0, English DTS 2.0 (Retrofassung (Retro Version)
Subtitles: German, German SDH, English, English SDH
Slipcover: No
Digital Copy: No
Starring: Linda Blair, Ned Beatty, Leslie Nielsen, Anthony Starke
Written by Bob Logan
Directed by Bob Logan
Rating: PG-13

NOTE: Turbine originally released REPOSSESSED on Blu-ray in 2024 in Mediabook packaging with a choice of three different covers. These were limited and sold out fast. This Blu-ray has simpler packaging, which keeps the cost down as those Mediabooks were quite expensive, but the disc is exactly the same as the one found in the Mediabooks.

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Poster

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What's It About?

Lange Zeit henschte Ruhe, doch jetzt fauct Nancy wieder damonisch und ihr hubsches Gescht ist zu einer Gruselfratze verserrt. Voe 20 Jahren war sie schon einmalvom Tuefel besessen. Nun ist er offenbar zuruckgekehrt, und es gibt nur einen, der ihr helfen kann. Peter Mayil, der schon damals all seine aufbot, um ihr den Satan suszutreiben.

Leslie Nielsen's incredible exorcism of the insane Linda Blair!

For a long time, there was peace, but now Nancy is hissing demonicly again, and her pretty face is twisted into a gruesome grimace. Twenty years ago, she was once again possessed by the devil. Now he has apparently returned, and there is only one person who can help her: Father Mayii, who even then summoned all his powers to exorcise Satan from her...

Linda Blair slips back into the role of the possessed woman after the horror milestone THE EXORCIST. However, the Prince of Hell has not reckoned with THE NAKED GUN legend Leslie Nielsen, an exorcist of a different kind. (Taken from the Turbine website)

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Video/Audio

For the longest time, if you had asked me what films I didn't think would ever come to blu-ray, REPOSSESSED was definitely on that list. The film had been released on DVD, but it was only in fullscreen and was probably taken from the VHS. So, color me surprised when Turnine released the film on Blu-ray. And also color be surpised as I watched the film and realized this was a good transfer. Film grain is light but still present. Colors are strong. Blacks are deep and inky. Skin tones look correct. Detail is very high. You can see the wrinkles in Linda Blair's makeup during her first possession. You can make out details in characters clothing. This is a very fine transfer.

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Extras/Packaging

Wirklich ehrlicher AUDIOKOMMENTAR von regisseur Bob Logan (Truly honest AUDIO COMMENTARY by director Bob Logan) In a time when studios don't want the truth about a film's production when there was drama behind the scenes, we get this incredibly honest track. I would say it can get brutal at times. REPOSSESSED is not the film Logan shot. He left the project after the studio wanted him to change the film into something 13-year-olds would like. He tells us all about the shenanigans without any type of censoring being held back. He points out everything he had anything to do with, which is a lot, and he tells us what would have happened in his version. He does tell some great stories about the shoot and the people who helped him make the film. At one point, he asks people to donate to Linda Blair's World Heart Foundation, which rescues pit bulls. At first, it felt like a YouTuber ad read, but I ended up finding it to be a nice thing one does for their friend. This is a helluva track. You don't see very many tracks where the commentator burns almost every bridge he has ever had in the industry.

Please note: Logan leaves the commentary track with about ten minuttes left in the film as he didn't shoot any of the footage during most of the climax of the film. He does not return either.

Interviews

Bob Logan (Author / Regisseur) (37m 30s, HD, 1.78:1) Logan met Linda Blair when they were making the 1989 romantic comedy, Up Your Alley. He got the idea of doing a spoof on The Exorcist, calling it Repossessed, and presented it to Blair, who loved it. Logan had also worked with Leslie Nielsen on a TV show. Nielsen loved the episode and told Logan to call him if he ever made a film. The film was produced by Carolco Pictures, who gave the Rambo films, but was sold during Repossessed's post-production. There was a test screening that was a disaster. This led to reshoots done without Logan. The film was dumped into theaters. Blair was not happy with the reshoots as they didn't represent the film she signed up for. After going through the film's production and release, Logan gives us a ton of behind the scene stories. He talks about each of his actors (who he loved working with) along with his filmmaking process. He also gives us his favorite jokes and sight gags.
Jeff Freeman (Cutter) (16m 28s, HD, 1.78:1) Begins the interview by going over how his family is all over the film business. He then moves into some of the films he has worked on over the years. Apparently, he had nothing to do with the editing of the reshot footage. He also says the reshoots were done by Jeff Kanew, who directed Revenge of the Nerds. The nudity was added during the reshoots. Had a great relationship with Bob Logan and has fond memories of the cast members he did work with. This is a decent interview that is kind of messy.
Anthony Starke (Vater Luck Brophy) (18m 36s, HD, 1.78:1) Begins by talking about how he felt he was right for the part because he had just done Return of the Killer Tomatoes, which is just as goofy as Repossessed. Talks about working with Nielsen and messing up takes because of Nielsen's fart machine. Took a first date to see the film and it didn't work out. He is happy that people like the film and has always loved the film.
Benji Thall (Ned Aglet) (19m 44s, HD, 1.78:1) He had been auditioning for about a year before landing the role in the film. His parents had made him do a few plays first to see if this was something he wanted to do which is admirable. He says that Linda Blair took him and the actress who plays his sister to the side and talked to them about the business and how they should just have fun and not take it too seriously. She wanted to make sure they knew how to deal with the business. He also fell victim to Leslie Nielsen's fart machine. He has very fond memories of Nielsen and says he learned a lot about acting and being on a film set from Nielsen. Ned Beatty gave him the best advice he had ever been given, "You get paid to wait around. The acting is free." This is a pretty good interview with some good stories.
Dove Delloos (Frieda Aglet) (15m 24s, HD, 1.78:1) Started out as a dancer who performed for Ronald Reagan as well as being a dancer in Moonwalker. She loved working with everyone on the set, but it was Linda Blair who made her feel at home on set. She talks about the crush she developed for Anthony Starke. Her parents rented out a theater for her 13th birthday so she could watch the film with her family and friends. She owns a dance studio and has a huge poster from Repossessed hanging in it.

Retrofassung (Retro Version) (1h 24m, SD, 1.33:1) This is the version that 99% of the people who have seen the film have seen. There is nothing diferent about the film, outside of the Studiocanal logo at the front of the HD version, but the film is in 1.33:1, unlike the HD version that is in 1.85:1. This is the version I saw when I was a kid, laying on the couch in my family room while my dad watched football and my mom made dinner.

Trailer

USA (1m 15s, HD, 1.85:1)
Deutschland (2m 3s, HD, 1.85:1) Wow. This is actually a different trailer. I figured it was going to be the exact same thing, just dubbed into German.

REPOSSESSED has been brought to us by Turbine, who have done a ton of good work throughout the years. This release is no different. The coverart used for this release is the one with Nielsen standing on a flying cross, holding a bible out in front of him along with a bible. This is a direct ripoff of the original theatrical poster for THE NAKED GUN, which also starred Nielsen. In fact, it's the exact same poster just changed to make it another film. This cover is also reversible but both sides contain the same poster art, just with different backgrounds (the main art has a sky background, the reverse has a red background. I am kind of disappointed with the reverse, as I wish they had used the poster art we got here in the states. You can see it above in the "Poster" section.

The film is divided into 12 chapters, with a chapter select menu off the main menu.

The disc is REGION FREE

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Overall

REPOSSESSED has to be one of the most overlooked spoofs of all time. The film had everything going for it, from a very funny script to getting Linda Blair and Leslie Nielsen to star in it, but the film didn't resonate with audiences. No one went to see because it was dumped in theaters by a studio who had no idea what they had on their hands. I wish more people had seen it because it is damn funny. It isn't as funny as the ZAZ films but it holds its own while showing that ZAZ wasn't the only game in spoof town. The film is basically a sequel to THE EXORCIST with Linda Blair's character (not named Reagan for obvious reasons) getting repossessed by a demon which requires another exorcism. Cue Leslie Nielsen as the new exorcist who is called into help a young priest.

The film is very funny but not all the jokes work. We find out in the special feautres that Logan was removed from the film following a disastrous test screening. This test screening resulted in reshoots Logan had nothing to do with. These are the scenes that don't work. The stuff that does work is the less zany stuff. The scene of the TV lady's closest full of small dogs. All of the wraparond story with Nielsen speaking to a school, is from the reshoots. These scenes are not funny so there you go. Looking at the film in 2025, I can appreciate what this film was doing, especially with the drool humor, where everything has to be funny all the time. While the film is a spoof, it is not "on" all the time. There are scenes that allow jokes to breathe. Comedies today do not do this. I liked that the film was a bit quieter than most.

REPOSSESSED is a good "2nd tier" spoof. It doesn't share the same shelf as AIRPLANE, THE NAKED GUN, or KUNG POW: ENTER THE FIST but it is just as good as the HOT SHOTS films, KINGPIN, and SCARY MOVIE. It has some big laughs and a lot more smaller laughs. There are also jokes you will get as well as many jokes you will not get. It toook 30 plus years for me to get the Ted Kennedy joke. Everyone in the cast seems to be having the time of their lives and really elevates this film above other spoofs. Everyone is up for everything this film throws at them. I wish the film had been a hit because we could have gotten a sequel where they spoof THE EXORCIST II. I would love to travel to the timeline where that film was made. Check this film out. It is very funny.

Turbine has come to rescue for all those people who never thought we would ever seen REPOSSESSED on blu-ray, including me. This blu-ray is better than I ever thought it could be. The picture quality is really well done and the special features give us a new look on the film. I had always wondered how a studio could bungle the release of a spoof film with Leslie Nielsen that came between the first two NAKED GUN films, but it turns out it was much worse than that. I had no idea there was any behind-the-scenes tomfoolery. The director is VERY candid in both his commentary and interview. This track and interview are must-watches on this set. I also only paid $20 for this blu-ray. If the film ever gets a release here in the States, it would be released by Lionsgate as part of their "Lionsgate Limited" line, where they overcharge for releases that should not be that expensive. That release for be at least $30-plus. The release is also region free, so pick this up. You will not regret it.

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Extras/Menus