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The Possession - Movie Review

2 stars

Three horror films released in three weeks.  Is this a blatant sign of the devil at work or just a sneak attack from a dybbuk?  Neither.  Hollywood knows exactly what time of the year it is.  While The Awakening had its moments and the dangerously dim-witted The Apparition did not, The Possession, produced by Sam Raimi, battles only itself for the “Could Have Been a Contender” badge of honor this Halloween season.  If only it had held tightly to its storyline throughout its running time and not let go of the thread with a stunningly weak climax we might be singing more of its praises as a supernatural family drama.  As it stands, The Possession is yet another example of modern day bipolar moviemaking.

Danish director Ole Bornedal (1998's Nightwatch) tosses us back into the 1970s with a brushed up genre know-how complete with ripe and twisting atmospheres and a slow pacing that appreciates long-winded attention spans undisturbed by 30-second commercials.  Mixing this with the usual and tedious jump scares, he presents a film that has the chance to appeal to a wider audience.  If only screenwriters Juliet Snowden and Stiles White (Knowing) had attempted to stick to the facts of the original 2004 Los Angeles Times article the film was inspired by instead of inventing a story that knows the safe way round The Exorcist once, twice, three times too many.

Ignore the disclaimer.  The Possession is a genuine work of fiction.  The real story – about a possessed antique box purchased from ebay – is loads scarier.  This version is not.  A recently divorced couple, Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Stephanie Brenek (Kyra Sedgwick), try to remain pleasant to each other for the benefit of their two daughters.  Bright-eyed Emily (Natasha Calis), who is all of 10-years old, and a typical teenage daughter Hannah (Madison Davenport) receive all they attention and love as they are shared by their two parents in Upstate New York.

Of course, a little spoiling occurs.  Clyde, eyeing a chance to earn points with his daughter, stops at a friendly yard sale and allows Emily to purchase a Hebrew-inscripted wooden box.  His daughter, completely captivated by the normal-looking box, does a gradual change not unlike a mood ring.  From personality to school work to behavior, strange things began to happen that gets blamed on adjusting to life as a broken family.   Unfortunately, what is happening is beyond what anyone can explain.  Emily is being taken over by a dybbuk, a disembodied Judaic spirit that has been kept at bay inside the antique box.

After an interesting beginning, The Possession settles into a sort of hasty handling of some of its characters, dismisses one without a pink slip and overtakes its audience with run-of-the-mill horror.  No one notices the physical changes in Emily.  The audience does.  And it becomes laughable that no one but the audience recognizes her zombie-like changes. I often wonder if the characters in these types of movies ever watch horror films because they respond so cluelessly idiotic at times.   The real travesty is what the script doesn't do with some of its many opportunities to tell a different sort of possession movie.  And with no exploration of religion and religious beliefs there’s little room for this demonic possession (and the narrative) to go.

If the film could maintain the tempered pacing and workman-like skill of its opening forty or so minutes as we blend some supernatural horror with legitimate human drama then we’d have an okay film with some (as in just enough) family drama.  The adult actors, namely Morgan and Sedgwick have their vulnerable “A” game working and bring a bit of believability into the realm of the supernatural.  Even some of the explicit (still maintaining a PG-13 rating) images – fingers poking out from inside Emily’s throat – are spooky, but nothing can help the lack of vision given to its conclusion…which in a horror film is the real deal breaker.

It’s obvious that The Possession wants to be understood on a somewhat deeper level as a metaphor for the divorce of the family but it doesn’t quite get the landing gear in place for it to be completely safe on its arrival.  On one hand, The Possession satisfies with solid atmosphere and angsty soul but - and more so on the other - it solidly disappoints with a way too familiar storyline, complete with the gnashing of teeth and the yelling of biblical verses.

Demon, be gone!  Please?[/tab]

[tab title="Film Details"]

The Possession - Movie ReviewMPAA Rating: PG-13 for mature thematic material involving violence and disturbing sequences.
Runtime: 92 mins.
Director
: Ole Bornedal
Writer: Juliet Snowden, Stiles White
Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan; Natasha Calis; Kyra Sedgwick; Jay Brazeau
Genre: Horror
Tagline:
Fear The Demon That Doesn't Fear God
Memorable Movie Quote: "I think whoever made this, didn't want anybody to open it."
Distributor:
Ghost House Pictures
Official Site:
thepossessionmovie.com/index.html
Release Date: August 31, 2012
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
No details available.

Synopsis: This is the terrifying true story of a girl's increasingly erratic behaviour after buying an antique wooden box at a yard sale, and how her family must unite and enlist the help of experts in order to overcome an unspeakable evil.[/tab]

[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

No details available.[/tab]

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