When was the last time we had a genuinely good possession film get released? Sure, we’ve had a slew of “just okay” ones, but the majority of them are retreads that present us with the same old bag of tricks. After July’s underwhelming The Vatican Tapes, we thought we would reflect on some of the recent offerings the sub-genre has offered us and think of some of the ways that Hollywood (or indie studios) could fix future possession films. ***Some SPOILERS for recent possession films will be mentioned.***
No More Found Footage
This request could really go for any horror film, but I thought I would bring it up here just in case. So many possession films nowadays are taking the found footage route, and it’s really becoming tiresome. Just off the top of my head, we’ve got The Taking of Deborah Logan (which I actually thought was alright), The Possession of Michael King, The Last Exorcism, Devil’s Due and many others. It’s overdone and having just a “regular” possession movie would be a breath of fresh air at this point.
No More Films Based On (Or Inspired By) True Events
This brief caption appearing before a film used to hold some weight. Now that it appears in front of so many possession films (among other genres), it is usually met with a groan. The Vatican Tapes, The Quiet Ones, and Deliver Us From Evil are all supposedly based on/inspired by true events. The issue with this is that the more outlandish and supernatural the film is, the less likely the audience can take the whole “based on true events” bit seriously. The Exorcism of Emily Rose was the best of the “true” stories because it actually presented two differing viewpoints
No More Priests Who Have Lost Their Faith
The most recent example of this (to my knowledge) is is Colin O’Donoghue’s priest in The Rite, but you can also see this character in The Last Exorcism, Stellan Skarsgård in Dominion: A Prequel to the Exorcist, and even with Hillary Swank’s character in The Reaping (though she wasn’t actually a priest). Usually, the person who has lost their faith regains it after the trials and tribulations endured with the exorcism. I get that the loved ones of the possessed are always going to go to a priest (or rabbi, or other religious leader), but the priest who lost his faith is used far too often. Just let them have faith.
No More Possessions of Young Girls
This also dates back all the way to The Exorcist (probably even earlier than that, actually), and it hasn’t really changed much. The Vatican Tapes, The Possession, The Last Exorcism, The Quiet Ones, The Exorcism of Emily Rose. All of these center around a young girl (typically a teenager, but not always) who has become possessed by an evil spirit, a demon or the devil himself. Change it up! Possess an adult or a young boy! It’s always a girl. Stop it.
Come Up With New Possession Symptoms
Speaking tongues, body contortions, bloodshot eyes, crusty skin and levitating. These are just a few of the many symptoms we have seen of a possessed person in a film. Maybe give us something different every now and then. Have the possessed sprout demon appendages, incorporate more body horror, do anything else than the usual. Stop having doctors think the possessed is always on drugs at first. The audience will find your lead character more terrifying if they are doing things we haven’t seen before. Try it out!
Make a Post-Possession Film
The best part about The Vatican Tapes was its final five minutes, which featured the demon that possessed the main character actually escaping an beginning to take over the world. Then it ends. Everything that came before was run-of-the-mill possession movie scenes. Had the film opened with its ending and gone from there, it could have potentially been a much more interesting (and better) film.
Come Up With Something New
As you can see, many possession films follow the same tropes. What makes so many of these recent possession films so bad isn’t because they’re legitimately bad (though some definitely are), but that we keep getting shown the same things over and over again. It would be refreshing if filmmakers would just try something new. The Possession took a different approach to the sub-genre by using a Jewish demon. It’s too bad everything else about it was just like every other Christian possession film. Filmmakers: take risks. Do something new. Even if the end result isn’t of the highest quality, at least we’ll have something new to talk about.
What other corrections would you like to see done on future possession films? Let us know in the comments below or feel free to Tweet me!