The Possession

Why should Catholicism be the only faith to deal with possession? Reaching for equal opportunity horror, Danish filmmaker Ole Bornedal turns to Jewish folklore—specifically, a dibbuk, which is a malicious spirit that can capture and ultimately devour the soul of an innocent person. At a yard sale in upstate New York, 10-year-old Emily Brenek (Natasha Calis) finds an old wooden box with carved Hebrew letters, and begs her father, Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), to buy it. Clyde is a basketball coach, recently divorced from Emily's mom, Stephanie (Kyra Sedgwick), a jewelry designer. Like many an indulgent weekend father, Clyde complies with Emily's wishes. Pretty soon, however, she's growling, gobbling food with a voracious appetite, and spitting out giant moths. His ex-wife blames Emily's ominous, antisocial behavior on Clyde, as does his sassy, often-hysterical elder daughter, Hannah (Madison Davenport). But Clyde's colleague, Professor McMannis (Jay Brazeau), and a hip Judaic exorcist, Rabbi Tzakok (Hasidic rap/reggae fusion artist Matisyahu), believe that the box contained a dibbuk that has now gained demonic possession of Emily. Loosely based on a 2004 Los Angeles Times article by Leslie Gornstein about the eBay auction of a “dybbuk box,” this is a superficially scripted and formulaically directed chiller that adds little to the genre, regardless of the change in religion. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include two audio commentaries (the first by director Ole Bornedal; the second with writers Juliet Snowden and Stiles White), “The Real History of the Dibbuk Box” featurette (14 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus digital and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a lame horror flick.] (S. Granger)