The Possession

The 2012 horror film, The Possession, directed by Ole Bornedal, weaves a tale that treads the lines between possession, exorcism, and familial challenges. Its chilling narrative propelled by accordant performances from Natasha Calis, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Kyra Sedgwick, it intermingles elements of the supernatural, religion, and family discord, imbuing the storyline with depth and intensity.

The film opens in the setting of a garage sale, where a young girl, Em (Natasha Calis), impulsively buys an antique box. This box, as discovered later, is no ordinary item. It is dybbuk box, holding a malicious entity in Jewish folklore that can possess the living. Em, despite being a kid, finds herself irresistibly drawn to this mysteriously old box. Unaware of the havoc this box will wreak in her life, she takes it home.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays Clyde, Em's loving father and a well-meaning, yet flawed basketball coach. Clyde is freshly divorced from his wife Stephanie (Kyra Sedgwick), a fact that brings long-standing, simmering tensions to the very outset of the narrative. As a regular dad navigating the aftermaths of a broken marriage and shared custody, Clyde tries his utmost to keep his daughters happy, inadvertently playing his part in Em's ownership of the box.

There is a palpable shift in Em's demeanor following her attachment to the box. The box not only exhibits a physical hold over her but ominously begins to impact her personality. Her parents, particularly Clyde, begin to notice her increasingly erratic and aggressive behavior. Em's transformation is astutely portrayed by Natasha Calis, her performance encapsulating the eerie innocence of a possessed child.

Despite the overwhelming fear and confusion resonating from Em's transformation, Clyde becomes determined to understand the change in his daughter. His journey reveals the horrifying truth behind the dybbuk box. Kyra Sedgwick, as Stephanie, grapples with her daughter's unnerving change, suspicious of Clyde's role in it. However, as the truth unravels, they are forced to set aside their differences for their daughter's safety.

The film, inspired by allegedly true events, explores the realms of Jewish exorcism, a relatively unexplored territory in the horror possession genre. It is important to highlight Bornedal's approach here; the film doesn't posit the archetypal priest as eradicators of the evil. Instead, it introduces the character of Tzadok, an atypical yet knowledgeable rabbi played by Matisyahu, who Clyde assists in their quest to save Em from the clutches of the dybbuk.

The narrative, peppered with calculated jumps-scares, invests some of its time in characters’ arcs, making sure the audience is invested in their fate rather than just anticipating the next scare. Its cinematographic styling adds a gritty layer to its storytelling. Its peculiar eeriness can be attributed to the subtly menacing shot sequences, minimalist yet effectual special effects, and a haunting background score.

The Possession is a commendable effort in the horror genre. Its success lies in its judicious blending of conventional horror and the innovative depiction of Jewish folklore to offer a break from mainstream possession narratives. What's more, it formulates believable familial dynamics apart from the supernatural elements. This adds a potent sense of reality into its script, enabling the viewer to relate better with the characters and adding another layer to the terror on screen.

Disquieting and emotive, The Possession may resemble its counterparts in the possession horror genre, but it brings equal measures of familiarity and freshness to the table. It serves the undeniable chills one expects from this kind of flick, while at the same time inserting moments of familial warmth and connection. Harnessing collective fears, it subtly juxtaposes supernatural terror with the horrors of a failing marriage and shared parenthood.

In between its climactic frights and scares, The Possession also comments on the fact that a family, despite being fractured, can come together in the face of danger to protect its own. Few horror movies bring out these moments of desperate, unabashed love and unity underneath layers of fright, making The Possession a class apart.

It is a film designed to give you chills and resonate with your emotional chords, intended for the audience looking for not just a conventional horror movie, but a film that underlines human bonds within the paradigm of supernatural events.