The Possession [Movie Review]

http://www.shockya.com/news/2012/07/20/a-new-motion-poster-for-the-possession-released/

Source: FilmTrailerzone

"After purchasing an old box at a yard sale, a young girl, Em (Natasha Calis), is obsessed with opening it, although her father says it appears to have been designed not to open. Em begins to exhibit bizarre and violent behavior. Since her parents recently divorced, her initial actions go without much notice, but Em's behavior soon becomes more and more extreme. Fearing for their daughter, Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Stephanie Brenek (Kyra Sedgwick) make various attempts – from brain scans to consulting rabbis – to discover what the supernatural force behind the box is, what it wants, and how to keep it from destroying Em."

Cast: Natasha Calis, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick, Matishayu

Director: Ole Bornedal

Source: IMDb

I would just like to share my enthusiasm while watching the film. :D That time, my friend and I were surprised to find new chairs in the cinema house. We watched in SM North Edsa by the way. They were not just the usual and common chairs you find all of the cinemas. They were lounge/recliner chairs so you can even lie down while watching. It was ironic because the atmosphere in the cinema was supposed to be tensed since we're watching a horror film but everything was relaxed because of the recliners. xD It would have been more relaxing if the recliner I've seated on wasn't unbalanced. xD But, it was still a plus factor why I concluded that my 190 Php was not totally wasted. :P 

Review:

The Possession is a Judaic or Hebrew variation of the movie The Exorcist by William Friedkin some forty years ago. A Hebrew variation in a sense that dybbuk was the demon used in this film instead of the modern-day devils used in other "Exorcist" films. Dybbuk, an old Hebrew demon, is said to house in a dybbuk box after being denied entry in the afterlife.

http://paulting89.blogspot.com/2012/08/moview-review-possession-2012.html 

The film starts when an old lady was violently assaulted by some force coming from the box after she tried to destroy it. The box came to the possession of Brenek family - tho parents were already divorced for a year, causing emotional difficulties for the two daughters. It was on a weekend with the father Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) that Em (Natasha Calis) persuaded him to buy the box in a yard sale, not knowing what happened to the previous owner of it.

http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2012/06/07/summer-movie-mayhem-2012/natasha-calis-stars-as-a%C2%80%C2%98ema%C2%80%C2%99-in-the-possession-photo-credit-diyah-pera/

Em starts to act differently, being violent and anti-social. She claimed that she had a friend livng inside the box, causing her father to consult a group of Rabbis in Brooklyn. In there, he finds the solution to stop the dybbuk from taking her daughter's life. A rabbi's son (Matishayu) came back with him and helped him perform exorcism in Em in an empty hospital room.

http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3153824/san-diego-comic-con-12-interview-the-possession-stars-jeffrey-dean-morgan-and-natasha-calis/

I haven't watched The Exorcist so I dare not compare the two. Personally, I found the movie filled with suspense. But it was accomplished through ear-splitting sound effects, the sinister background music, and the punctuating blackout scenes. Those effects that give you chill during those ominous moments. However, I think the film lacks impact, those scenes that could make the hairs in the back of your neck rise. I personally applaud Natasha Calis' performance tho, with her impressive ability for malevolent staring and the tears naturally streaking down her face without a hint of change in emotional expression. But I think that alone was not enough to support the film's frightening scenes. The over-all film is not horrible tho. Some frightening scenes may be disappointing for people who are truly fanatic of the movie genre but for jumpy persons like me, they were enough to give me chill.

http://www.awardscircuit.com/2012/08/30/the-possession-%C2%BD/

On the other hand, I like the cast's acting. There was a rapport between the actors. The heartwarming family love at the end was sincere. The dialogue was full of heart, there's a sense of humanity despite being a horror movie. The direction offered cinematic appeal, even if some of the scares could go for the kill (figuratively). Overall, I found the movie tense and dramatic. It's not like the other horror movies I've watched that would give me post-movie-scary-scenes-etched-in-my-mind paranoia but still somehow gave justice to its effort to retread horror films with religious approach.