This film was so forgettable; I can barely bring myself to name it!  Suffice to say that this film had so much potential, but not even the Blair Witch/Paranormal Activity-style of filming could inject the necessary tension into this movie!  Possession is supposed to inspire feelings of pity, horror, shock, fear and perhaps inspire the watcher to believe in life after death.  I expected and wanted to see some truly frightening scenes, but as is the case with many of these films, the ad was much better than the finished result.  I suppose the most horrifying moments were the baptism; and the events which unfolded after the priest returned following the event.

The only good things about this film were the special effects which had various members of the cast contorting into impossible shapes and the totally unintentional humour!  Even I realised what the ending was going to be before the final scene and predictability isn’t a good thing when trying to inspire horror from this subject.

My opinion doesn’t really matter at the end of the day, if you loved this movie you might want to discuss it with other fans, in which case you should visit The Rossi Files. 

There are more than a few films of this type which you can see that are a lot better.  My firm favourite for number one spot has to be the original, “The Exorcist”.  This film, featuring Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn is a classic example of what can be done with this genre.  Named the “Scariest Film of All Time” by Entertainment Weekly, The Exorcist actually won two Academy Awards.

If you want to expand your experience of demonic possession, although why would you after this farce; you might want to try some of the following – you might even find one to enjoy!

  1. Constantine – Keanu Reeves stars as a man with preternatural abilities who exorcises demons to try to gain admission to heaven.
  2. The Rite – featuring Anthony Hopkins as a veteran exorcist who introduces a younger priest struggling with his faith to the world of demonic possession.
  3. The Exorcism of Emily Rose – based on a true story of a girl who died during the course of a series of exorcisms and the priests and parents go on trial for causing her death.
  4. Fallen – intriguing cat-and-mouse thriller featuring Denzel Washington as a detective trying to find a demon who commits murders while possessing different people.
  5. The Last Exorcism – another POV film featuring “found footage”.  (I personally wish that some of these finders would leave this footage alone… anyway…)  A sham exorcist meets his match in a possessed teenage girl. 
  6. The Shining – features Jack Nicholson in the story of a family man gradually possessed by a demon that drives him to kill.  Whether this is in fact demonic possession or Jack’s normal frame of mind, we’ll never know.  Stephen King describes the presence as inhuman evil, so whether ghost or demon is open to interpretation.

My favourite is still The Exorcist and while I can see how the filmmakers have tried their best to add some credibility to this particular story, but it fails massively.  I know this might be controversial, but I have to say as I find and I thought this particular film was disappointing in its execution. 

All in all, a let down!