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The Possession, a Movie Review by Michael L. Johnson

Okay, so it’s fair to say that I’m not really crazy about horror flicks, but with all the buzz going round about this new film that just came out called The Possession, I had to see for myself if the movie lived up to the hype.  The film is directed by Ole Bornedal, and co-produced by Sam Raimi.  This week,  Snowden Square Stadium 14 in Columbia, Maryland was the venue of choice.  It’s one of Regal’s theaters, located in a shopping center that has a Boston Chicken right across from the movie house. For about ten bucks I got a good-sized meal. Sorry popcorn, with your prices being what they are, I didn't miss you that much.

The good: The acting of the cast is excellent.  Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick, Madison Davenport and Natasha Calis (who plays the possessed child “Em”) all give good performances.  What I also liked about The Possession is that it is the kind of horror film that does not rely on relentlessly bloody scenes to keep your attention (although there is plenty of violence in the movie). The film actually has a decent script. In this story (which is supposed to be based on a “true” story), a father buys his young daughter an antique wooden box with Hebrew etchings at a yard sale, only to discover some type of evil spirit is trying to take over her mind and body, because she opened the box. 

Even though the film has a slightly slow start, that slow start makes sense, as it helps to build the story line (and also build suspense). The family dynamics that frame the narrative are complicated. Complication takes time to make clear.  (The family that experiences the paranormal events is dysfunctional, two adults balancing the visitation of two children after a messy divorce.)

What is also interesting is the subject of demonic possession, as it’s depicted within Judaism. That is not something often seen on screen.  Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, what most horror moviegoers want to see in any good horror picture is something that scares you and something that scares you a whole hell of a lot.  On that subject, The Possession has its moments.     

The bad: The movie doesn’t possess enough of those scary moments.  Also, when the film starts off by letting us know that it is “Based on True Story,” I was expecting a work that felt, at the very least, as if it were closely retelling some actual events—something original.  I was disappointed on both fronts.  Maybe an alarm should go off anytime a movie starts with the words “True Story” at the beginning. And maybe that alarm should signal to moviegoers that what they are about to see is probably less true than straight out fiction.  I say that because The Possession’s plot felt highly contrived for dramatic effect.  If, in fact, this movie was inspired by a true story, that true story was The Exorcist’s screenplay. If you've seen The Exorcist, then you've seen this movie. It’s that derivative and predictable.  Once the evil starts you almost know what is going to happen next (except for when people die just for the sake of violence, and their deaths seem to make absolutely no sense).

The Most Important Question: Was it a good movie?

The Possession is a fairly good film.  If you like horror movies, you’ve got to keep up with this one.  If I were asked to give the film a rating, numbered from 1-5 with 5 being the best, I'd give it a 3. At one point when I was watching the film, a guy in the row in front of me almost jumped out of his seat. That’s got to count for something.

--MLJ