Review of The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014) by Aubrey M — 25 Oct 2014

A well shot, well acted, and certainly scary story about an old woman with Alzheimer's being possessed by a mysterious force. To start, the film is scary. It builds suspense and has some jump scares, but the real scares are the indelible images that seem to come right out of a nightmare.

I like that they chose an unconventional person to be possessed. This woman is old and frail, which makes it much scarier when she starts acting so strange. It's more than obvious the filmmakers were trying to create something meaningful about Alzheimer's, and without spoiling too much, it only works at a base level.

The film delves very deeply into horror territory so it leaves the drama on the back burner. You know what? That's okay. Too many horror films these days are trying so hard to "mean" something that they end up aimless.

The characters in this film are all going through deep and emotional real life struggles, and the writing is strong enough to show the audience this without pretension. It's a tight film and it works.

Never was I bored. I did have a problem with some of the logic in the second half of the film. Once the police get involved, the main characters are far too involved. SPOILERS. Toward the end, Deborah kidnaps a little girl.

This is serious business, especially since Deborah is severely mentally ill. And yet, the police tell the main characters to "hop in". Sorry, but no. That would never happen in real life. END OF SPOILERS.

I also have to commend some of the acting, specifically from Deborah and her daughter Sarah. Both bring their A game, and deliver top notch performances. Simply put, this is a must see, even if it isn't "artsy.

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