 Supposedly based on a true and well-publicized incident – as reported in the LA Times – THE POSSESSION is a psycho-horror movie about demonic possession, backed-up to a certain extent by some theological knowledge. Credible characters in a believable world must come to grips with ancient demons, this time a Dybbuk straight out of Jewish mythology.The demon is locked, presumably for all time, in an old wooden box bearing a Hebrew inscription warning the unwary of its contents: an evil spirit or dybbuk, ready to pounce and possess the soul of whoever sets it free. Young Emily (Natasha Calis) spots it at a yard sale and begs her father, Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), to buy it for her. He does; anything to make her happy. Following his recent divorce from her mother (Kyra Sedgwick), she and her sister Hannah (Madison Davenport) are living with him and the family has just moved into a new home. Contrary to standard horror locations, the house is new, bright, sterile – a stark contrast to the ancient and sinister darkness of the dybbuk. After managing to prise the box open, no mean feat incidentally, Emily starts to change. Ferociously obsessive about the box, she begins exhibiting strange behaviour, which dismays her father and teachers alike. Her mother is shocked by her daughter’s sudden transformation, blaming it on her ex-husband’s harmful influence. They become even further estranged. Kyra Sedgwick and Jeffrey Dean Morgan play a convincing couple, realistic and without affectation, making the action even scarier by contrast. Director Ole Bornedal emphasises the ghoulishness of the box’s contents without excessive over-use of CGI. What does it contain? Among the array of unusual artefacts is a small object that appears to be a mechanical insect of some kind – and swarms upon swarms (if that is the right collective term) of moths. Each time Emily opens the box, they swoop out and invade her… Finally coming to terms with the possibility of his daughter’s demonic possession, Clyde seeks advice from a Jewish professor at the school where he works as a sports coach and discovers the meaning of the Hebraic inscription. Frightened, he visits a Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn looking for help. Initially to no avail, as the group of synagogue elders immediately shies away from the box in fear. Tzadok, the earnest younger son of the rabbi (Matisyahu – Hasidic Reggae rap artist), however, believes it his divine mission to save lives and souls and thus agrees to perform an exorcism. His vigorous face-off with the dybbuk is highly reminiscent of Max von Sydow’s demonic encounter in THE EXORCIST, which has, truth be said, influenced many movies since. But nevertheless, this is one of the better of the genre and maintains its suspense up to the very end. At a budget of $14 mill, it has already grossed $65.8 mill. worldwide since its US release at the end of August and is yet to open in some major foreign territories.
THE POSSESSION (USA 2012) / German title: DAS DUBKLE IN DIR; Genre: Horror; US Distributor: Lionsgate Films/German distributor: Studiocanal; Runing time: 93 mins; US Release date: 31st August; German release: 8th November; Diector: Ole Bornedal; Writers: Juliet Snowden, Stiles White, based on Leslie Gronstein’s article JINX IN A BOX; Cast:Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Natasha Calis, Kyra Sedgwick, Madison Davenport, Matisyahu
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