The Possession (2012)
| release date | August 31 2012 |
| studio | Lionsgate |
| director | Ole Bornedal |
| writer | Juliet Snowden & Stiles White |
| starring | Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick, Madison Davenport, Natasha Calis |
| rating | PG13 |
| tagline | Darkness Lives Inside |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
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To describe The Possession, the best thing to say would be that it works MUCH better as a drama than a horror movie. The film does have some creepy moments, as well a decent score, but there are some things are that were a bit over the top. It also would have benefitted much more an R rated movie. This one however is a HUGE step up compared to the POS possession fims we’ve received since Emily Rose (which I loved). The acting in this is also worth praise as well. So my advice, go see this with a drama in mind and you’ll appreciate it much more.
Some critics dismissed this one early, saying, “Oh great, another possessed little girl.” I remained optimistic, knowing that there’s a reason horror films tend to lean on the “possessed kid” trope: it’s scary. Kids are uniquely vulnerable, and we as adults are supposed to protect them. So, I bought a ticket to see this on the best screen in town.
And I got burned for it. You see, the filmmakers failed to understand what actually scares people. If you want to evoke fear in an audience, don’t show them something you think they should be afraid of; create characters we care about, and then show those people in terrifying situations. No one in “The Possession” is particularly likeable, so instead the movie tries to show us scary things. Unfortunately, the movie thinks that moths and eating too fast are “scary things”.
The movie suffers from predictability. For some reason, modern horror movies seem to be made with the belief that they have to satisfy a body count quota. Since the central characters have to survive until the end (or very nearly the end), that means that you can count on a handful of peripheral characters, people who have little or even nothing to do with the central “curse”, getting spectacularly killed, whether it makes sense or not. In this movie, you can probably pick them out as soon as they appear on screen. It just makes you think, “Well, if this evil ghost-in-a-box could kill people that easily, why hasn’t it been doing it all along? And why did it only wound others who have been around it way, way longer?”
It also suffers from some poor editing; every time there’s a scene that’s supposed to be scary, a scene that seems to be building up to a climax, BAM, the scene abruptly ends. Suddenly you’re somewhere else, removed from the scary stuff which was evidently resolved without bothering to show you how. It happens more than once, and it feels like horror movie coitus interruptus.
Anyway, I’d skip this one and wait for cable.
Hey, I’m certain I scored this one at 2/5, but the review posted as 3/5. That score does not accurately reflect my opinion.
Well I was actually really surprised by “The Possession”. I liked the look of the trailers a lot, but when I heard all of the mediocre reviews, I wasn’t quite so optimistic that this would be as good as I thought. Actually, I thought “The Possession” was a really well-made and highly enjoyable horror film. It’s much better than other recent efforts such as “The Pact” and actually tries to be different from “The Exorcist” which is where many exorcism films fall.
I loved the simplicity of the story. It’s simply an evil box. We don’t know anything about its origins and frankly we don’t need to know either, just like we didn’t know anything about the gypsy woman in “Drag Me To Hell”. Of course, a girl somehow falls in love with its ugly exterior and decides to open it and all hell breaks loose (only not quite as literally as “Drag Me To Hell”.)
The film also scores highly in the character department. We get to explore each character deeply so that we become involved in what’s going on, which makes for compelling viewing. There isn’t a dull moment in “The Possession” as there’s always something interesting happening, and it doesn’t take long for the box to be opened. Although, sometimes it did feel a little disjointed with just a line of crazy things happening, it does find its focus in places and makes you want to know what’s going to happen.
It’s also beautifully directed with lovely washed out colours and sometimes nail-biting suspense. It all builds up to a fantastic finale (no prizes for guessing what that is) that was actually really thrilling and creepy. I thought “The Possession” was a brilliant and highly enjoyable horror film. It may not be entirely original, but it’s involving and well-made with characters you can actually give a damn about. The girl was also very good.
It’s not bad, but it’s not good either.
Its ok. Just ok. The worst thing is that literally every single scary part of the movie was in the trailer. Id suggest just watching The Exorcist or The Last Exorcism. Hell I was more entertained by The Devil Inside.
The Possession possesses many similar qualities of great demonic possession films of the past, such as The Exorcist, as it focuses more on mood, atmosphere and character development than CGI and gore. The Jewish angle of the film was an interesting take, but just didn’t work for me and kind have brought the effectiveness down a notch. The problem with the movie is that it doesn’t do much to distinguish itself from other horror films of its kind, just follows them. That being said, the film offers several white-knuckle moments that will make you squirm in your seat and is well filmed and acted that it kind of makes up for its unoriginality.
The acting was all around solid, the characters were genuine and the story though overly familiar works in the beginning, creating some very creepy moments. Natasha Calis plays Em, a young girl who is dealing with the divorce of her parents and soon gets possessed by a mysterious entity from a box she got at a garage sale. She gives a chilling and captivating performance, even though it’s too similar to Linda Blair’s performance in The Exorcist. Natasha is the star of this movie and pretty much overshadows everyone else. Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick play Clyde and Stephanie, the typical parents trying to save their possessed daughter from destruction, but you mostly felt their pain and terror and were relatable, making their ordeal all the more harrowing. Madison Davenport was the spunky one of the group, she gave her most to the role, but there was not much to her part and reminded me of some reason of the older sister in Poltergeist.
Director, Ole Bornedal definitely has some knowledge about this genre and is a skilled director, but coming from the guy that directed the superior film Nightwatch, I expected more originality from him. He borrowed the right ingredients but did nothing fresh with them and in the end perishable. The film was too routine and much like countless other possession films, it suffers from the same flaws of standing out.
Overall, The Possession is a whole lot better than critics make it out to be and uses moths more effectively than the recent horror film Mama did. The movie is more creepy and disturbing than flat out scary, but I did jump once or twice. The performances and solid filming style drive this film horror film from being a complete waste of time. The fact that it’s based on a true story makes it chillingly fascinating, even though there were some plot holes that never got filled. The film has an intriguing premise, but ended up falling back on horror clichés and unoriginality, which is its downfall. It kind of leaves the door wide open for a sequel and I wouldn’t mind, because if The Haunting In Connecticut gets one than this one should too. Rental at best, a decent one at that.
I’d give it 3.5 stars. And I certainly think it’s worth a watch, especially if you dig these sorts of movies. Never left me bored, there were some good chills, and I enjoyed the documentary included with the DVD. All the bad reviews turned me off, which is why it took me so long to see it – but it’s definitely worth 90 minutes of your time.
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