Clyde is awoken one night by the screams of his eldest daughter, Hannah, as she finds herself sharing the bathroom with several moth type creatures. It slowly dawns on them that the moths seem to be emanating from Emily's bedroom. As they enter Emily's room, they are greeted by the sight of the entire room being covered by the flying beasties, with Emily sat on her bed. Clyde quickly rescues her from the infested room, but this is just the start of the strange events; slowly but surely, Emily develops an unhealthy obsession with the antique box. It soon becomes apparent that there is something sinister about said box, and Clyde starts to delve into it's mysteries as it begins to take over his daughter. To make matters worse, his ex wife, Stephanie, begins to suspect him of beating Emily, only further adding to the tension between the formerly married couple.
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| If looks could kill... |
What makes this film different from the other exorcism films out there is the fact that it is essentially a Hebrew horror film, with the box, that so much of the film focuses on, being of a Jewish background. Every exorcism film has to have some form of faith or religion in it - that's how the whole concept of an exorcism works. With this film, the leads of the film find themselves having to research into the Jewish faith, having to seek out Rabbis, and having to make themselves familiar with beliefs that they are otherwise unaware of. The box in question is known as a Dybbuk Box, a box that it is believed contains the spirit of a dybbuk - an evil spirit from Jewish folklore. Clyde manages to get the assistance of the Jewish community in the form of a young man called Tzadok (played by the charismatic musician, Matisyahu). As the film heads towards it's finale, Tzadok takes centre stage.
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| Lost in the moment |
Whilst the Jewish spin on things is a fresh approach to the genre, the film ultimately falls down in many ways. The first act of the The Possession promises much; the characters are established and fleshed out, the subtle scares nod towards the ominous events that are to come, and the pacing of the film, whilst slow at times, sets the mood well. The main problem with the film is that it takes a little too long to get to the meat of the action. I'm all for subtlety and a slow build, but the build here is a little too laboured for my liking. Add to this an at times laughable finale, and the film falls flat on it's face. When Tzadok is carrying out the exorcism, whilst no doubt authentic, it comes off as comical. One would almost be forgiven for thinking that he was free style rapping in the spirit of Rabbit from Eminem's 8 Mile. As well as this, there's the small matter of the demon in question. The effects throughout the film are generally very good, but, when the demon does finally makes an appearance, it resembles a poor man's Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. I also found myself having several issues with the cut of the film, mainly with it seemingly skipping to another scene mid scare. The score would build up to a booming, unnerving point, somebody would start to scream... then the scene ends mid scream and flips to other events, leaving you feeling a little short changed.
Not to say the film is all bad, though. As mentioned, the slow build of the first act is well done. There are also some excellent performances on show, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Natasha Calis, in particular, shining in their roles. It's just a shame that a film that showed so much promise, that took a unique, fresh look at a genre that has been done to death, failed to deliver. Genre fans will enjoy it, but general moviegoers will find plenty of flaws with The Possession. From my perspective, I'd give the film a 2 out of 5 - it's worth a watch if you're a fan of similar films, just don't get your hopes up too much.
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