Review of The Possession (2012) by Brett B — 25 Feb 2013

There are a lot of good things in THE POSSESSION, but it is not without at least one substantial flaw. The domestic familial dynamic the serves as the story's backdrop is nicely handled (even though it's the kind of thing we've seen before), and the central relationships feel mostly believable, not perfunctory as is often the case in genre stories.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan makes for a very solid lead, and the rest of the cast members (particularly Calis and Davenport as his daughters) are good as well. Additionally, the usage of Jewish mythology as the basis for the supernatural goings-on is interesting, and it puts a relatively fresh spin on the increasingly-tired demonic possession subgenre.

With those positives taken into account, my big issue with the movie is simply this: it didn't scare me. There are some brief moments that are effectively creepy, and as I said, the premise is good, but it doesn't seem like the filmmakers were really able to capitalize on their own ideas and bring them to full fruition.

Is the movie - at points - unsettling? Sure. Well made? Certainly. Frightening? Not so much. But it's not a bad movie, either.