Connect with us

Editorials

[Closer to Death] ‘Possession’: What Is A Dibbuk Box?

Published

on

The closer we get to August this summer, the more we are going to hear about Lionsgate’s Possession, the Sam Raimi produced, Ole Bornedal directed movie about a series of hauntings unleashed when someone opens a Dibbuk Box.

It’s based on a true story from 2004. No, really.

If you have no idea what a Dibbuk is, or just want to know where to draw the line of fact from fiction when it comes to this tale – you’re just like me before I looked into this. Read on and we’ll sort it all out for ya’.

A Dibbuk (more accurately spelled Dybbuk) is from Jewish folklore. In essence, a dybbuk is a malicious or malevolent possessing spirit believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person.

The word “dybbuk” comes from Hebrew, meaning “attachment”. The dybbuk (spirit) attaches itself to a living person and inhabits the flesh. According to Jewish belief, a soul that was unable to complete its mission during its lifetime is given another opportunity to do so as a dibbuk. It sometimes leaves the host body after accomplishing its goals.

The “Dibbuk Box” mentioned in the synopsis of Possession refers to a real Jewish wine cabinet brought to America by a Holocaust survivor after World War II.

In 2004 this wooden box was purchased on eBay (Mr. Disgusting was actually following the events as they occurred via a now defunct blog), and it apparently caused some ethereal havoc when the owner decided to open the box. It hadn’t been opened for some 60 years before, because supposedly, there was an angry spirit trapped inside. Its history is summed up well in Wikipedia, as detailed by Kevin Mannis – the one who posted the notorious eBay auction:

The origin of the box dates back to November 10, 1938, the date when a group of women living in the Lodz ghetto of pre-World War II Poland were supposed to have conducted a seance during which the women attempted to trap an evil spirit they had helped to manifest from the “other” side Having survived the Holocaust of World War II, the original creator of the Dibbuk Box was supposed to have emigrated, with the box, to the United States where she died in 2001.

Mannis, a writer and small business owner, purportedly bought the Dibbuk Box at an estate sale/auction of the woman’s estate that year. The survivor’s granddaughter told the buyer that the box had been kept in her grandmother’s sewing room and was never opened as a dybbuk – an evil spirit from Jewish folklore – lived inside. The furniture restorer offered to give the box back to the granddaughter, who became hysterical and refused to take it. – Wikipedia

The one who opened the box found this inside:

– two 1920s pennies
– a lock of blond hair bound with hemp cord
– a lock of brown hair bound with hemp cord
– a small statue engraved with the Hebrew word Shalom
– a small wine goblet
– two dried rose buds
– a single candle holder with 4 octopus shaped legs

Strange phenomenon declared by owners of the box:

– Iosif Neitzke, the last person to auction the box on eBay, claimed that the box caused lights to burn out in his house and his hair to fall out.

– the furniture restorer claimed that the box was responsible for a series of horrific nightmares shared with other people while they were in possession of the box.

– his mother is supposed to have suffered a stroke on the same day he gave her the box as a birthday present – October 31.

– every owner of the box has reported that a smell of cat urine, and Jasmine flowers and nightmares involving an old hag accompany the box.

Written by Juliet Snowden & Stiles White, “A recently divorced father’s (Morgan) youngest daughter becomes strangely connected to an antique wooden box she purchased at a yard sale. As his daughter’s behavior becomes more erratic, the father senses a dark presence building until he discovers that the box was built to contain a dibbuk — a dislocated spirit that inhabits and ultimately devours its human host.”

Possession is scheduled to open in theaters on August 31, 2012.

~ John Marrone – CLOSER to DEATH

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

Published

on

leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

Continue Reading