The horror genre has clearly gone through a multitude of changes over the years. There are so many different variations of it that the term “horror” is not a clear definition of what a scary film is any more. However, films about demons, demonic possession, and the devil are always a good basis for inciting thrills and chills into an audience. They make up some of the greatest horror films in cinematic history, movies like The Ammytville Horror, The Excorcist, and The Rite invoke a sense of fear like no other. There’s just something about demons that always strike a high level of anxiety and fear into an audience.
The Possession is an eerie, disturbing happenstance that is a modern perspective on the often told story of demonic possession, starring Jeffery Dean Morgan (Red Dawn), Kyra Sedgwick (Man On A Ledge), Natasha Calis (Daydream Nation), Madison Davenport (Kitt Kitteredge: An American Girl), and Grant Show (The Girl Next Door).
The truly disconcerting tale is a pragmatic, suspenseful retelling of the events that happened to family over a 29 day span, and their struggle to fight for the life of the youngest member of their family. After the young girl buys a mysterious box at a local yard sale she begins to slowly fall prey to a demon that was imprisoned inside it. This 'dybbuk box' had been constructed to trap a demon who steals the souls of innocent children. The Possession is more of a suspense story than a horror film. Most of the movie plays out very slowly and extremely subtlety, as Em begins to fall prey to the demon her transformation. But the movie succeeds in building a good level of tension and anticipation as the mystery surrounding the box begins to unfold. There aren’t a lot of big over the top scenes, but as Em changes it really is bone chilling.
Good horror films are a rarity these days. In this modern era of movies, they have become nearly extinct. The Possession has many elements of a good horror, but, outside of a few moments, fails to deliver on the chills. It's is a decent watch, but nowhere near the horror film that the trailer will lead you to believe it is, so true hardcore horror fans may feel a bit let down.
Da’Mon is a writer and artist, a graduate of Coppin State University and an avid, life-long lover of film. Da'Mon has been actively writing movie reviews since 2011. Check out more of his work at Examiner.com, where he has published over 400 reviews. Visit his Blog and follow him on Twitter.
