Review: The Possession (2012)

The Possession Review

Year: 2012
Stars: Natasha Calis, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick
Directed: Sam Raimi
Running Time: 86 Mins Approx.

Sam Raimi brings us a *based on a true story* film well it is loosely based and I’ll get to that a bit later. What can I say I’m a Raimi fan always have been and probably always will be, from evil dead to Spiderman and even this. This film bears a few Raimi hallmarks from the get go such as the bone crunching stiffness possessed characters have to the flopping around and floating.

Now based on a true story, from what I can find it’s a little sketchy some cursed Jewish wine cabinet. The story is of the EBay seller Iosif Nietzke, a Missouri college student, who sold an ancient Jewish wine cabinet box online, and warned buyers of the bad luck that came with it--for example, he was only in his 20s and had started losing his hair when he got the box.
Buyers bid on the box very quickly, even knowing about the "bad luck". It sold for $280 to a museum curator named Jason Haxton. After he bought the box, The Forward, a 107-year-old Jewish newspaper, published an article about the mysteries behind the box.
Many rabbis and other high-level Jewish scholars have offered to open the box and one even asked Haxton to take all images of the box off the Internet because it would serve as a way for spirits to invade homes. The spirit people are worried about is the "Dybbuk", which is supposed to be a malevolent spirit of a dead person.

So that’s the *true* side of the story this film is basically just about the box though and the possible spirit inside it.

The movie starts with some old staring at the box whose then Raimi styled around the room while her son is trying to get a response from knocking her door. A Separated father (Jeffery Dean Morgan) takes his daughters to his new place near the beginning of this movie.
Jeffery Dean, I like the guy I think he’s a reasonably good actor, I’m a fan of a show called supernatural and I was introduced to him proper on there as an actor. His work up to this has pleased me and I can say that he puts on a great performance in this too.
Some good angst dad thrown in there which I think endeared him to me in supernatural.

So they find a yard sale to help their dad get some stuff for his new place, the youngest daughter finds the cabinet on sale and is immediately drawn to it. I personally have not seen the daughters in anything I can remember off the top of my head but they seem like pretty good kid and teen actors for their parts, with the typical nastier older sister.

Some pretty decent writing and acting on all parts and some brilliant directing from Raimi stops The Possession from becoming an average run of the mill paranormal activity type film. Though thankfully it’s not shaky hand cam its proper film.
Though there are the usual shocks and thrills it’s not too bad of a film and definitely worth a watch if you’re a horror movie fan.
The effects are brilliant from the possessions to things popping out of mouths which too some I’m sure will be mildly disturbing. As said before there’s the definitive Raimi hallmarks that anyone who has seen Evil Dead or even Drag Me to Hell will recognise in here.

Now because I’m such a big Raimi fan and this movie didn’t make me want to fall asleep and kept me interested I want to give it 4 stars, for the people who just want to see a run of the mill horror movie this is above par, though worth a VERY strong 3 stars.
So based on that and that I don’t do half stars I will give this film 3 stars and this, if you want to watch a horror film you can do a LOT worse with some of the crap at the moment get this above anything else that’s out at the moment.