The Possession

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Korra N Not as scary as it could've been, but still a very well-made movie with some great acting, solid effects and stylish direction. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/31/25 Full Review Erica B. You know what makes this move ten times more scary, ITS BASED ON A TRUE STORY!! But awesome and suspenseful movie Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/30/25 Full Review K K The Possession is a 2012 American supernatural horror film. Wow, this is what a lower-budget scary horror family film can be. This movie was budgeted at 14 million then the other costs were usually 2-3 times minus credits, so 28 to 40 million costs minus credits, and it made 83 million. That is a great return, a success for numbers people. For the story, I loved it. More original possession movie. Perhaps getting using how the big bad comes into the family via a "garage" sale is a bit used, but it worked well enough. This movie did not try to be a family movie, it could just be due to the story and cast. True, it is PG-13 and on the darker side of PG-13. The compelling acting of the whole cast in creating characters that were unique and authentic are aspects I really appreciated. The drama of the family and their lives kept my interest and then the scares seemed more suspenseful as I was engrossed in the story. The cast Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Clyde Brenek Kyra Sedgwick as Stephanie Brenek Madison Davenport as Hannah Brenek Natasha Calis as Emily Brenek Grant Show as Brett Matisyahu as Tzadok Shapir Jay Brazeau as Professor McMannis Quinn Lord as Student David Hovan as Rabbi Adan Brenda Crichlow as Miss Shandy Anna Hagan as Eleanor Ella Wade as the Voice of the Dybbuk Cameron Sprague as Abyzou The parts all worked due to the actors. Kyra Sedgwick is such a talent and often goes under the radar, although a big TV star with series she had with The Closer. Here Sedgwick, as Stephanie Brenek, shines in a supporting role, not oversteping the part but contributing just the right amount so that the leads can do their roles. Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Clyde Brenek does a stellar dad job and his daughter, the other lead, Emily Brenek, Em, by Natash Calis have great chemistry and brought drama, humor and scares. Madison Davenport as Hannah Brenek, like Sedgwick, shines in supporting role: being the older sister. The director, music, sound, special effects and makeup delivered. I love these types of lower-budget movies as more risks can be taken, since you don't need to make half a billion dollars to be a success. I love that this is not a manufactured or TV-feeling movie, rather a movie that needs to be watched first on the big screen. A movie on a lower budget doesn't have to have a TV or streaming vibe. Again, nothing wrong with those types of movies, but they are different and belong in the medium of TV/streaming. In recent years, perhaps the quick rush to throw up lower-budget scary movies has saturated the market and given them an inferior quality. This movie is an example of how it was and can be: a good scary family-type movie. For real hard scary/horror movies, this probably won't be your thing unless it is more of a mainstream, scary FAMILY sort of movie. Great job! FYI, I do the Pass or No Pass. So if I think it's 3 stars or higher, it passes and gets 5 stars. If below 3, then No Pass and 1 star. Rather than trying to decide if a movie is 2, 3, 4, 5,, this simplifies reviewing of movies and prevents the classic overthinking that can happen. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/09/25 Full Review Jun L Aside from typical ghost possession cliches, the story isn't bad, tries to do something new with the Jewish-belief based ghost (at least I'm not aware of other horror movies using these types), and jump scares are okay, not great, but there is just a lot of unnecessary perks of certain characters that doesn't do anything for the story or anything at all, but rather makes them more annoying than likeable. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 04/15/25 Full Review Holly I think it’s quite good! Well acted and good story! A few good scares! X Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/28/25 Full Review Will C Annoying characters, a story you've seen a million times, and I can't think of a third thing to even mention. This movie is a forgettable try at The Exorcist but vaguely Jewish. The dybbuk box story that The Possession is based on was always just a piece of creative writing, done by a guy who's too arrogant to understand that eBay isn't the place for creative writing. There are countless better possession movies with the same basic premise. Go watch one of those instead. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 03/07/25 Full Review Read all reviews

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