The Possessed

The Possessed

Year: 1976

Runtime: 97 mins

Language: Japanese

Director: Tadashi Imai

Horror

Oshima, a wealthy young woman, is married to Shinzo. His cousin Sawa harbors a deep jealousy toward Oshima and places a curse on her, rendering Shinzo unable to touch or be intimate with his wife. Enraged, Shinzo turns his affection toward Sawa, beginning an affair.

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Timeline & Setting – The Possessed (1976)

Explore the full timeline and setting of The Possessed (1976). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Location

Helen Page School, Salem, Oregon

The Helen Page School is a Catholic all-girls college located in Salem, Oregon. The campus sits during graduation season as it prepares to go coed, blending academic life with a looming sense of danger. Mysterious fires and unexplainable hauntings disrupt the routine, signaling a higher battle between faith and evil.

🏫 School ⛪ Religion 🔥 Supernatural

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 15:33

Main Characters – The Possessed (1976)

Meet the key characters of The Possessed (1976), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Kevin Leahy

An alcoholic Catholic priest who has strayed from his faith. He dies in a car crash and is sent back to Earth as an exorcist to fight evil, returning to life in service of penance. His presence triggers supernatural events on the campus as he confronts the possessed and protects the vulnerable.

🕯️ Exorcist 🍷 Alcoholic 🕊️ Redemption

Ellen Sumner

A compassionate teacher at the Helen Page School who guides the students and pushes for investigative action. She collaborates with Leahy to uncover the truth behind the fires and the growing threat. Her loyalty to her daughter Weezie and to her students drives the story forward.

👩‍🏫 Teacher 🕯️ Faith 💪 Protector

Weezie Sumner

Ellen’s daughter and a student at the college who becomes intertwined with the haunting events. She reveals personal tensions about a possible romance with Mr. Winjam and bears witness to the escalating danger. Her perspective anchors the human stakes of the possession plot.

👧 Student 🕯️ Innocence 🔎 Witness

Louise Gelson

Headmistress and Ellen’s sister, whose affair with Mr. Winjam contributes to the college’s moral complexity. She is later possessed by the supernatural force, culminating in a dramatic confrontation at the swimming pool. Her dual role as administrator and antagonist amplifies the film’s themes of power and corruption.

👩‍🏫 Headmistress 💔 Affair 👁️ Possession

Mr. Winjam

A teacher who engages in a romantic affair with Ms. Gelson, a secret that fuels tension within the college. He becomes a victim of the fires in the biology room, symbolizing the dangers of hidden passions and the cost of hypocrisy.

👨‍🏫 Teacher 💔 Affair 🔥 Death

Lane

A student at the school who becomes part of the prank that escalates into a deadly fire. She endures the fires with others and witnesses the growing supernatural threat. Lane’s case helps illustrate how fear and misbehavior intersect with the phenomenon.

👧 Student 🔥 Trauma

Sgt. Taplinger

The local police sergeant investigating the string of mysterious fires and the unusual events on campus. He questions Ellen and pieces together the evidence of a supernatural threat alongside the official investigation.

👮 Police 🕵️ Investigation

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 15:33

Major Themes – The Possessed (1976)

Explore the central themes of The Possessed (1976), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🕯️ Possession

A malevolent presence haunts the school, sparking a spree of mysterious fires and eerie events. The resurrected priest Kevin Leahy is drawn back to Earth to confront the evil there. The possession plot uses religious ritual to heighten fear while exploring guilt, faith, and protection of the vulnerable.

💔 Hypocrisy

The story ties supernatural terror to a scandal among the school’s staff—an affair between Ms. Gelson and Mr. Winjam. Their romantic entanglements become a catalyst for the haunting, exposing underlying moral corruption within the institution. The investigations and fear blur lines between instinct, power, and accountability.

🕊️ Redemption

Leahy’s death and subsequent return frame redemption as a sacrifice rather than victory. His act of absorbing the flames and disappearing into the pool suggests a selfless bid to end the evil’s hold. The narrative uses this arc to question the cost of faith and the possibility of personal atonement.

🎓 Education

The setting centers on graduation and an imminent shift to coeducation, highlighting tensions between tradition and change. The students’ experiences amid fear reveal how education contexts can become battlegrounds for larger moral questions. The film uses campus life as a microcosm of religious authority, gender roles, and resilience.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 15:33

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The Possessed Summary

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The Possessed Summary

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The Possessed Timeline

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