Thomas J. Reanhauer is a preacher and the leader of an occult cult. While trying to raise a kid from the dead he has a heart attack and is taken to a local hospital. Reanhauer dies on the operating table. In attendance are Dr. Nelson (Clay Foster), Dr. Peter Desmond (Geoffrey Land) and Nurse Sherri Martin (Jill Jacobson). Reanhauer’s second in command, Stevens (J.C. Wells), becomes disillusioned with the religious leader and believes he is just a con man. After he dies, Reanhauer’s spirit leaves his body and, as a green glowing entity, enters the body of Nurse Sherri.
Also in the hospital is a former football player, Marcus Washington (Prentiss Moulden) who is now blind due to a tragic accident. Nurse Tara Williams (Marilyn Joi) is attracted to Marcus and begins visiting him. She learns that Marcus’s grandmother was a voodoo priestess. He wears a bracelet she gave him to ward off demons. When Sherri enters his room, Marcus gets the heebie-jeebies. He tells Tara that there is something evil in the hospital.
Sherri, now fully possessed by Reanhauer begins killing those that he believes was responsible for his death. Dr. Desmond, who is also Sherri’s boyfriend, notices a difference in Sherri and becomes worried about her state of mind. He talks to Dr. Andrews (John F. Goff), the psychiatrist on staff at the hospital, about Sherri’s condition. Andrews tells him to keep an eye on her.
When Peter leaves the hospital, he is approached by Stevens who tells him that Reanhauer’s spirit is loose and to destroy the evil spirit, Reanhauer’s body must be burned. This puts Stevens on the demon’s hit list as well.
Meanwhile, Marcus convinces Tara that Sherri is possessed and that the body of the dead prophet must be destroyed. Since he is blind and can’t perform the ritual, it is up to Tara to try to bring Reanhauer’s murderous vengeance to an end.
“Nurse Sherri” AKA “The Possession of Nurse Sherri” AKA “Black Voodoo” AKA “Beyond the Living” AKA “Hospital of Terror” AKA “Killer's Curse” AKA “Hands of Death” was released in 1977 and was directed by Al Adamson. It is a supernatural horror slasher film. There are a couple versions of the film out there. One has more nude scenes than the original version. Al Adamson delved mostly in exploitative movies and made most of his films for the drive-in market.
The movie could have been a little shorter and still maintain the essence of the plot. Some of the scenes are a little drawn out making it a little tedious at times. The special effects are rather lame, and the acting is subpar. Not a great movie for sure. I’ve heard that the sexier version of the film is the better one.
I’m not sure about all the facts in this but it seems that at one point the filmmakers decided that they would change the marketing of the film to take advantage of the recent flood of blaxsploitation films even though most of the roles were given to white actors. To try to cement the blaxsploitation theme the film was retitled “Black Voodoo”, and the poster art featured a black possessed nurse instead of a white one.