Mainstream American horror has a tendency to either travel down safe, slightly spooky roads or overload with gore at the cost of true, properly built suspense.  The Possession, with its teen-friendly 15 rating (PG-13 in the US), falls firmly into the former category.  Claims that it is based on a true story are partially accurate (well, possibly), but the central story remains the work of writing tandem Juliet Snowden and Stiles White.  Danish director Ole Bornedal is at the helm, yet The Possession retains a typical Hollywood approach.

The Possession arrives in cinemas 31 August

Originally entitled “The Dibbuk Box”, The Possession is about exactly that: an antique wooden box designed to entrap a demon called (in Jewish faith), a dibbuk.  When it falls into the hands of a fractured family, the small, cursed chest threatens to tear them further apart once its contents are disturbed.  Jeffrey Dean Morgan is Clyde, a recently divorced father who can’t seem to please his two teenage daughters, Emily (Natasha Calis) and Hannah (Madison Davenport).  The idea that Clyde has neglected his daughters in favour of his coaching job is more paid lip-service to, rather than properly developed, as the film invests in his depiction as the sympathetic protagonist.  As Clyde’s ex-wife, Kyra Sedgwick spends the majority of the film being cross at him while casually flaunting her new boyfriend.  These interpersonal relationships provide the canvas for Bornedal’s brush strokes of mild creepiness, as Em’s obsession with the box slowly sees her become consumed by the possession so gently hinted at by the film’s title.
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