The horror genre's seen a glut of exorcism movies in the past few years, but this is the first one to use a dybbuk as its source of evil. Sure, the Jewish angle is little more than a fresh coat of paint on the usual devilry, but the Stars of David and Hasidic Jews and Hebrew whispers give The Possession a distinctive flavor. Instead of traveling to an imposing cathedral, Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) visits rabbis who gather in clutched, shadowed quarters and wave their arms dismissively at the ghostly box. One would think they'd be floored by such a profound discovery, which is nothing less than a total validation of their religious faith. But no one cares. No one ever cares.
To be fair, this is business as usual. With few exceptions (The Exorcist, The Rapture, Frailty), religion is plot machinery in horror/thrillers, and clerics are stewards of exposition rather than people of depth. Actor and musician Matisyahu adds some interest to the role of exorcist Tzadok by keeping his character youthful - he rocks out to his iPod and rebels against his elders. Again, superficial changes, given that, by the end, he's shouting a demon's name over and over. "Adisu! ADIIIIISUUUU!" he screams and wails, and if you think it takes more than name-repetition to ghostbust a dybbuk, you need to go back to temple.
Like most modern horror films, especially Hollywood output, The Possession is shrill in its climax, over-scored and over-designed. The music alternates between simmer and boil, and it builds to shrieks in the event that we aren't scared enough. Thankfully, it follows the tack of Insidious, in which there are no "false" scares with people clapping each other on the back or cats leaping off trash cans. Instead, director Ole Bornedal plays with relative honesty. I like how he punctuates many scenes with quiet fade-outs that lead to ominous shots that look down on houses from high above. Call it Hashem's-eye-view.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick bring a grounded reality to the parents, Clyde and Stephanie. The two are going through a divorce, but they avoid histrionic arguments. Clyde stays optimistic as Stephanie slowly pushes him out of her life like a splinter, and her new beau, Brett (Grant Show), isn't an enemy to Clyde so much as a quiet reminder that the divorce is real. In addition to starting the film with tension, the divorce allows a convenient reason for daughter Emily's strange behavior, even after Clyde sees her in her bedroom, swarmed by moths, gripping the dybbuk box like a life preserver. Actress Natasha Calis plays Emily to strong effect, so much that her routine switch from angel to harpy creates some real emotion.
The Possession was produced by Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, and this film shares some of the same tricks as previous Ghost House production Drag Me to Hell. Sometimes with the overwrought score, even more with the bizarre oral fixation. In Drag Me to Hell, the heroine was constantly a victim of substances shoved into her mouth. Embalming fluid, blood, gore, a fly, an entire arm. This worked both as a nasty joke on her fear of over-eating, and as a way to keep the film's violence beneath an R-rating. Here, the implication is simpler. Dybbuks need food. In one of the film's best moments, Emily devours a diner breakfast and says, "Can I have some more?" Then whispers, "She's still hungry."
The Possession is hardly a great film. Like most of its genre, the film will be forever buried in the shade of Friedkin's The Exorcist. But it's about as good as a PG-13 version of The Exorcist can be, thanks to the strong family dynamics and efficient direction and Jewish angle. Also, in a small relief, the producers were able to pony up the cash to show the logos for Google and Vimeo on-screen. It's enough to off-set my sadness that the requisite scene of heroes intensely clicking from window to window has officially replaced the requisite scene of heroes intensely scanning through micro-fiche in library basements.
RATING: B
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