Fear The Demon That Doesn't Fear God
Rating: 4/10
Running Time: 92 minutes
US Certificate: PG-13 UK Certificate: 15
It all started with the rare case of the little girl with the white nightie and the green vomit but now it seems that everyone’s getting possessed. It’s just like getting a pesky ailment like the flu or thrush which begs the question: is it interesting anymore? No, is the answer to my rhetorical question.
To begin with, there is something different about The Possession – it stars a Jewish possessing demon, a dybbuk. Said dybbuk comes to the Brenek family – featuring divorced Mum and Dad, Clyde (Morgan) and Stephanie (Sedgwick), and two young, emotionally damaged daughters, Hannah (Davenport) and Em (Calis) – in the form of an antique box bought at a yard sale. The demon chooses Em and turns her into a bit of an arse and the usual clichéd story follows as the family desperately search for ‘experts’ that can help them and then the usual exorcism ensues. And don’t even get me started on the ‘based on a true story’ rubbish.
As mentioned before The Possession offers nothing new. For a start, the possessed Em isn’t that scary and it’s highly probable that she could live with the slightly annoying demon inside here like you’d live with a missing digit or bad acne. Overall, the acting isn’t terrible and involves lots of the standard fare of close-ups of concerned staring, over-acting mothers and initially relaxed, unconcerned fathers with the best piece of acting in the movie probably belonging to Hasidic hip-hop star Matisyahu’s impressive facial hair. With nothing interesting going on and no scares of consequence to back it up, there’s very little to keep you glued to the screen.
All this is brought to us by Director Ole Bornedal – of Nightwatch fame – someone who should have first arrived on US shores with a better vehicle to work with. On a positive note, you won’t be disappointed because as soon as you read the title all hope would have been extinguished anyway.
It's Got: Decent if not stellar performances, excellent facial hair
It Needs: Not to be based on a true story, more originality, few more scares
Summary
Just because a demon possessing a little girl is of a different religious denomination, it doesn’t mean it’s original. Exorcism, schmexorcism.