The Possession Review

• 18th Jan 2013

We are back in possessed territory (as the label says on the time). But this time we take a step away from Christian mythology and into Jewish beliefs.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan heads up the cast as a father of two, trying to maintain a level of contact with his estranged wife. Things start to get a bit strange when his youngest daughter purchases a small wooden box from a junk sale. As her obsession grows with so, she starts to get possessed by the Evil spirit that lives inside and naturally the girl starts to freak out family – and eventually bumps soon turn to shoves.

There is a blend of CGI and practical effects (a particularly nasty one involving the loss of teeth); many loud noises and see-through twists along the way, but at least the writer has made it compelling enough, and often funny in between the scares.

Director Ole Bornedal isn’t a stranger to scares or tension having scored with both the original and the US remake of his very own Nightwatch (The film about the morgue, not the Russian vampire film). It all does drive towards a “get an exorcist in” type ending where the industry fans are called in to blow a lot of wind about.

It’s a fairly predictable affair, but ultimately it’s satisfactory with some of the chills along the way and makes a nice break from Christian demons. Points do go to Jeffrey Dean Morgan for continuing to be a charismatic lead, one of the underused actors working in Hollywood. This one is worthy of a look and makes a decent evening’s entertainment.

Steven Hurst