The Possession

I went in to “The Possession” thinking it was going to be another shocker screamfest like “The Last Exorcism” or any of the “Paranormal Activity” movies. Instead, what I found was a broken family story masquerading as a horror film.

The movie ads tell us the film is about a little girl who is possessed by a demon. Actually, it’s about a high school basketball coach (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) who has recently divorced his wife, with whom he shares two young daughters. The wife (Kyra Sedgewick) has started dating another man, a dentist, though the screenplay give us some not-so-subtle hints that they still care for each other.

Things change when Morgan takes his two daughters to a yard sale where the youngest one finds something called a Dybbuk box, a container which, according to Jewish tradition, houses a demon. The girl opens the box, and, soon, all sorts of ghastly things start happening. The house is overtaken by moths, something tries to crawl out of her throat, a ghostly visage appears in an MRI scan… and that’s just the beginning.

“The Possession” has drawn numerous comparisons to “The Exorcist,” which is probably the granddaddy of all these kinds of movies. What’s interesting this time around is that Jewish ritual is invoked to deal with the demon, not Christian. I guess this makes sense, since the Old Testament has its fair share of dealings with the demonic; it’s just unusual to see it portrayed in a Hollywood film.

Ultimately, “The Possession” is about Morgan’s redemption with his family. A dad is supposed to make sacrifices for his kids, after all, and Morgan does it and then some.

I have to say that I wish the final scene didn’t take place. You’ll see what I mean, if you view this movie, and, if you’re a veteran film goer, you’ll have expected it. Why do all horror movies have to have open endings, anyway? It’s grown to be a cliché.

Language: Pretty mild, but one of the characters took the Lord’s name in vain. I hear it almost everyday in real life, but I hope that we’d be able to stop ourselves from blasphemy, if we ever deal with a demonic possession.

Do I recommend this movie? You know what? I think I do—for mature audiences only.

Violence: Heavy / Profanity: Moderate—“God,” “Jesus,” “Oh, Lord,” “hell” (2), “damn,” s-word / Sex/Nudity: Minor

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.