The Possession - A Movie Review

Do not trust that box. A voice tells you to do strange things.

The Possession was released to theaters in 2012. After a young girl buys an antique box at a yard sale, Emily begins acting weird. Finding out that an evil spirit occupies this box, Clyde needs to find a solution to end the curse overtaking his daughter.

I’m still not sure whether The Possession was aimed to be a dark comedy or if it was supposed to be a regular horror film. I found myself laughing and questioning logistics a lot. The Possession is a ridiculously flawed film that doesn’t take itself seriously by the end.

First, I will give it to the cast who achieved the tone of the story. Jeffrey Dean Morgan was the most convincing. Although not perfect, Clyde loves his daughters. That is the best part about his character. Struggling to be a good dad, Clyde won’t stop until he can break the curse that is overtaking his daughter.

Divorce is a major theme in The Possession. While the storyline runs on the usual cliches where the divorced couple has arguments, but also share tender moments, and continue to argue again. It was overdone. Kyla Sedgewick did a good job, but overall, her character deserved better direction on whose side she was on.

As the kids, Natasha Calis and Madison Davenport were great. If she had better direction, I believe that Calis’ performance could have been better. Being overtaken by a vengeful spirit, Emily’s behavior is creepy. I commend Calis for her performance as a possessed child - it’s just that I didn’t see her sudden changes in behaviors (evil and innocence) believable.

Most of the characters don’t have much of a purpose. Where does Hannah (Davenport) go in the middle portion of the story? She was important in the beginning. And Brett (Grant Shaw) disappears and is never mentioned again when he was a crucial character in the divorce plotline.

In his first film, Matisyahu had an interesting role. Like most of the characters, he could have used better direction because it was obvious that he was just going with what felt natural to him in scenes. And Jay Brazeau made his small part memorable as a scientist, making his enthusiasm over the top.

And let’s not forget the two actors who had the opportunity to fly around the room, slamming against the walls in hilarious fashions. Again, I couldn’t take it seriously. Their reactions, coupled with the way the scene is shot made it more humorous than a scary scene.

Here’s where the first film fell into a comedy angle. Just watch the first scene and it’ll make you giggle more than it’s supposed to be scary. I also found it unrealistic how nobody is concerned for Emily’s startling change in behavior, asking her if she is okay and just passing it off as nothing.

The direction is messy. Ole Bornedel started strong but lost his way. Eerie at times, there is too much creepy music building up to jump scares - if you can call them that. The editing is also sloppy. I didn’t like how scenes would cut to black or end without clear resolution. Visual and makeup did create a horrifying effect.

I gave up on the film by the end. I knew the film wasn’t taking itself seriously when the characters were in a hospital and were running, screaming, and performing a ritual in lone hallways with nobody around!

If you want to check out The Possession, go ahead. I still enjoyed watching it, curious to see what happens next.