Dybbuk in a Box

Review: The Possession

It’s not Halloween or even October yet, but it’s about that time that studios begin to release scary movies at a higher frequency. (And yes, it is getting earlier and earlier, like stores putting up Christmas decorations earlier and earlier. Speaking of which, there was a Christmas movie released this past weekend; crazy!)

Anyways, leading the fall season is the PG-13 horror film, The Possession. Now, I’m usually skeptical of horror films that are not rated R. I know that there are bad R-rated scary movies, but I can think of some really good ones too. But I can’t think of any good PG-13 horror movies. Insidious? The Woman in Black (review here)? No thank you.

So, needless to say, I went into The Possession with pretty low expectations, which may be why I enjoyed the film a bit more than I thought I would. That’s not to say the movie is all that good, it’s just not all that bad.

In The Possession, a young girl buys an antique box at a yard sale, unaware that it contains a malicious ancient spirit known in Jewish folklore as a Dybbuk. The girl's estranged parents reunite as they attempt to save their daughter.

The first half of the film is rather well constructed, creating relatable characters we can care about and introducing a new twist on the exorcism genre, moving away from the traditional Christian possession and drawing inspiration from lesser-known Jewish mysticism.

Director Ole Bornedal (Nightwatch) is quite effective at building tension and a establishing a mounting sense of dread throughout the film. I attribute much of this created apprehension to the kids in the film. As I made note in my review of Paranormal Activity 3, bad things just seem scarier when they happen to children.

Children have more to lose and we fear for the corruption of their innocence more than we sympathize with more morally ambiguous adults. Most people have an innate desire to protect children, so sitting there while kids are in danger, unable to shout out for them to be careful, can be very effective. (I mean, you can yell at the screen, it's kinda fun actually, but they’re not going to hear you!)

So credit to the girls, both of whom come from the land of television, Natasha Calis (The Firm), the girl who becomes possessed, and Madison Davenport (Shameless), both of whom deliver characters believable enough to connect with audiences’ protective instincts.

And it really is quality of performance, that sets The Possession apart, at least a little I think, from its horror peers. Playing the girls’ parents are Jeffery Dean Morgan (Watchmen) and Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer), both of whom are much more experienced and higher quality actors than are usually hired for scary movies. 

Okay, so I’ve given you the all the good parts up front, but now on to why I still don’t think it’s really worth a ticket, at least not a full-priced ticket.

While we learn that the demon finds its origins in the Jewish tradition and we see that a rabbi performs the exorcism, the film completely misses its opportunity to really individualize itself by become more fully immersed into the Jewish culture. There is such interesting material within Jewish mysticism that could have been introduced to the audience to enhance the history and mythology behind the possession.

As it stands, the film pretty much pulls us aside to say, “It’s a Jewish demon!” and then immediately transitions to a repetition of exorcism clichés, especially during the second half of the movie. The Jewish aspect really could have made The Possession a truly unique film, instead it simply pretends to be. 

Also, while there is edge-of-your-seat, what’s-going-to-happen tension built throughout, the film lacks sufficient pop-out-at-you scares to make all the tension and waiting worth it. And I’m sorry, but the filmmakers couldn’t find anyone other than Jewish rapper Matisyahu to be the rabbi who performs the exorcism?

Overall, while The Possession is bolstered by a quality cast and an interesting concept, that idea is never fleshed out as much as it deserves to be and the scares are too few and far in between to make it a truly scary horror film.

The Final Word: Wait to rent it.

And props if you caught The Lonely Island reference in the title!