J.D.’s Revenge (1976)

“He came back from the dead to possess a man’s soul, make love to his woman and get the Vengeance he craved!” Highly entertaining, low-budget blaxploitation flick directed by Arthur Marks involves a laid-back law student/cabbie named Isaac “Ike” Hendrix (Glynn Turman) in New Orleans who becomes possessed by the spirit of a psychopathic street hustler, J.D. Walker (David McKnight), who was brutally murdered along with his sister in a slaughterhouse during the mid-1940s. Ike gradually takes on the persona of Walker and sets out to take vengeance on those who wronged him as his wife Christella (Joan Pringle) is left to wonder how her husband has suddenly turned into such a raging maniac. Turman’s amazing Jeckyll/Hyde performance allows him to chew the scenery as the sadistic, trash-talking, razor blade-wielding Walker, who wreaks total havoc wherever he goes (even taking an old woman on a “joy ride” in his cab). The excellent cast includes Louis Gossett Jr. as the sleazy Reverend Elija Bliss and Fred Pinkard as his equally corrupt brother Theotis, as well as Jo Anne Meredith as Sara Divine, Alice Jubert as Betty Jo Bliss, Carl W. Crudup as Tony, James Watkins as Carl, Stephanie Faulkner as Phyllis, Fuddle Bagely as Enoch Land, Earl Billings as Captain Turner and Paul Galloway as Garage Man. At times ridiculous, misogynistic and excessively violent, J.D.’s Revenge is definitely not for all tastes. Believe it or not, J.D.’s Revenge features a soundtrack by a then-unknown Prince (he also supplies the vocals for the catchy single, “Will Never Let You Go”).

Leave a Reply

Close Menu