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''The Possession'' is a 2012 American
supernatural horror film Supernatural horror film is a film genre that combines aspects of supernatural film and horror film. Supernatural occurrences in such films often include ghosts and demons, and many supernatural horror films have elements of religion. Common them ...
directed by
Ole Bornedal Ole Bornedal (born 26 May 1959) is a Denmark, Danish film director, actor and Film producer, producer. Bornedal was born in Nørresundby, Denmark. He wrote and directed ''Nattevagten'' (''Nightwatch'', 1994), a thriller about a law student who ...
, written by Juliet Snowden and
Stiles White Stiles White is an American special effects artist, television writer, television producer, screenwriter, film producer, and film director. He is best known for writing the film ''Knowing (film), Knowing'', and writing and directing the film ''O ...
, and produced by
Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the first three films in the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present) and the ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007). He also directed the super ...
,
Robert Tapert Robert Gerard Tapert (; born May 14, 1955) is an American film and television producer, writer and director. He is best known for co-creating the television series '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. Career Film Tapert first became involved with filmm ...
, and J. R. Young. It stars
Jeffrey Dean Morgan Jeffrey Dean Morgan (born April 22, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the character Negan in the AMC horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' (2016–2022) and its spin-off '' The Walking Dead: Dead City'' (2023–present ...
,
Kyra Sedgwick Kyra Minturn Sedgwick ( ; born August 19, 1965) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her starring role as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on the crime drama ''The Closer'' (2005–2012), for which she won a Golden ...
,
Natasha Calis Natasha Calis (born 27 March 1999) is a Canadian actress known best for her role in the 2012 supernatural horror film ''The Possession'', where she plays the role of Emily Brenek, a possessed girl, as well as her role as Claire McDeere in the 201 ...
,
Grant Show Grant Show (born February 27, 1962) is an American actor. He is best known for his role on ''Melrose Place'' as Jake Hanson, which he played from 1992 to 1997. From 2017 to 2022, he portrayed Blake Carrington in the soap opera reboot ''Dynasty' ...
,
Madison Davenport Madison Danielle Davenport (born November 22, 1996) is an American actress, best known for her role as Beatrice in '' It's What's Inside'' and as Kate Fuller in '' From Dusk till Dawn: The Series''. She also appeared in '' Kit Kittredge: An Ame ...
, and
Matisyahu Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), known by his stage name Matisyahu (; ), is an American singer, rapper, beatboxer, and musician. Known for blending spiritual themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing sounds, Matisyahu's 2005 sin ...
. The story, based on the 2004 ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' article "A Jinx in a Box?" by
Leslie Gornstein Leslie Gornstein is a Los Angeles–based freelance entertainment writer and reporter. Gornstein wrote the ''Answer B!tch'' column on E! Online from 2004 to 2013. In March 2013, she began a blog and podcast called ''The Fame Fatale,'' in which she ...
, is about the allegedly haunted
dybbuk box The Dybbuk box, or Dibbuk box (), is an antique wine-cabinet claimed to be Haunted (possession), haunted by a ''dybbuk'', a concept from Jewish mythology. The box drew attention when it was auctioned off on eBay by owner Kevin Mannis, who created ...
. The film was shot in 2011. Parts of the film were filmed at a former mental institution, Riverview Hospital in
Coquitlam, British Columbia Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the sixth-largest city in the province, with an estimated population of 174,248 in 2024, and one of the 21 municipalities comprising Metr ...
. Bornedal cited films such as ''
The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on The Exorcist (novel), his 1971 novel. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller (play ...
'' as an inspiration, praising their subtlety. It was released in the United States on August 31, 2012, with the film premiering at the
Film4 FrightFest FrightFest, also known as Arrow Video FrightFest is an annual film festival held in London and Glasgow. The festival holds three major events each year: a festival running five days over the UK late August Bank Holiday weekend, a Halloween eve ...
and received mixed reviews from film critics, while audience reception has been positive.


Plot

A middle-aged woman stands in her living room looking at an old wooden box with
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
writing on it as it whispers and hums a Polish phrase, "Zjem twoje serce", which means "I will eat your heart". (The box is later said to originate from a Jewish Polish village in the 1920s–30s.) The woman prepares to destroy the box with a hammer, but she begins to shake uncontrollably. As she is unable to move, the left side of her face begins to droop and she is knocked to the floor by an unseen attacker, and the force throws her violently around the room. Her son arrives and finds his mother unconscious on the floor. Basketball coach Clyde Brenek and his wife Stephanie are finishing up their divorce to go their separate ways. Their daughters 10-year-old Emily "Em" and teenage Hannah, help Clyde settle into his new home during the weekend. At a yard sale, Em discovers a box, the same one from the middle-aged woman's living room. While holding the box, Em looks into a window of the woman's home and sees her lying in bed, now wrapped in bandages, and being attended to by a nurse. The woman looks out to see Em holding the box and screams in horror, startling Em. Clyde buys the box for her, and they later find that there seems to be no way to open it. That night, she hears whispering coming from the box. She is able to open it, and finds a tooth, a dead moth, a wooden figurine, and a ring, which she begins to wear. Em becomes solitary, and her behavior becomes increasingly disturbing, even becoming possessive over the box. At school, she violently attacks a classmate when he takes her box, resulting in a meeting with Clyde, Stephanie, the principal, and her teacher. Em's teacher recommends that she spend time away from the box, so it is left in the classroom. That night, curious about the mysterious noises from the box, the teacher tries to open it, but a malevolent force violently throws her out a window, murdering her. Em tells Clyde about an invisible woman who lives in her box who says that Em is "special". Alarmed by her behavior, Clyde attempts to dispose of the box. During their next weekend at Clyde's, Em gets progressively more upset with the disappearance of the box and accuses Clyde of abusing her. Em flees the house and recovers the box. The voice from the box begins conversing with her in the Polish language, before seemingly possessing her. Stephanie finds out about the abuse accusations and has a judge prevent the children from being with their father. Clyde takes the box to a university professor who tells him that it is a ''
dybbuk box The Dybbuk box, or Dibbuk box (), is an antique wine-cabinet claimed to be Haunted (possession), haunted by a ''dybbuk'', a concept from Jewish mythology. The box drew attention when it was auctioned off on eBay by owner Kevin Mannis, who created ...
'' that dates back to the 1920s or '30s; it was used to contain a
dybbuk In Jewish mythology, a (; , from the Hebrew verb , meaning 'adhere' or 'cling') is a malicious possessing spirit believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person. It supposedly leaves the host body once it has accomplished its goal, some ...
, a dislocated spirit as powerful as a demon. Clyde enters Em's room and reads
Psalm 91 Psalm 91 is the 91st psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." In the slightly different numbering system us ...
until a dark but invisible force throws the
Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''
Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...
community in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
and learns from the rabbi Tzadok that the
possession Possession may refer to: Law *Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance *Drug possession, a crime *Ownership *Pe ...
has three main stages; in the third stage, the dybbuk latches onto its human host, becoming one entity with it. The only way to defeat the dybbuk is to lock it back inside the box via a forced ritual. Upon further examination on the box, Tzadok learns that the dybbuk's name is " Abyzou", or "Taker of Children". Later that evening, Em violently attacks her mother when Stephanie discovers her gorging herself like an animal out of the refrigerator. Stephanie's boyfriend Brett suggests that Em be examined by a psychologist. The next morning, Brett prepares to take Em to the psychologist. However, when Em stares malevolently at Brett, his mouth begins gushing blood and his teeth begin falling out, causing him to drive away frantically. Em has a seizure on the front lawn and is taken to the hospital for an MRI. During the procedure, Stephanie and Hannah are horrified when they see the dybbuk's face in the MRI scans next to Em's heart. Clyde and Tzadok join the family at the hospital and attempt to conduct an exorcism, which results in a struggle between Clyde and the dybbuk. Clyde survives the attack, but the dybbuk is passed from Em to him. Tzadok performs a successful exorcism; Abyzou emerges from Clyde and crawls back into the box. The family is reunited, with Clyde and Stephanie's love rekindled. Tzadok drives away with the box in Clyde's vehicle but the car is hit by a truck, killing him. The box lands safely some distance from the wreckage, and Abyzou's whispering is heard from it.


Cast


Production

The film was shot in 2011, followed by post-production in July of that year. Bornedal stated that he was drawn to ''The Possession''s script, having seen it as more of an allegory for divorce than as a true horror film. Actors Sedgwick and Morgan were brought in to play the Breneks; Morgan chose to participate after seeing Calis' audition tape. Parts of the movie were filmed at a former mental institution, Riverview Hospital in
Coquitlam, British Columbia Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the sixth-largest city in the province, with an estimated population of 174,248 in 2024, and one of the 21 municipalities comprising Metr ...
. Jason Haxton, the current owner of the supposed dybbuk box discussed in the original "A Jinx in a Box?" article on which the film was based, offered to send it to producer
Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the first three films in the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present) and the ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007). He also directed the super ...
, who was interested yet reluctant. Raimi laughingly told an ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' interviewer, "I didn't want anything to do with it. I'm scared of the thing." He also told the interviewer that he was raised in a
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
Jewish home: "You don't hear about dybbuks when you go to
synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
. I know the demonic lore of ''
The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on The Exorcist (novel), his 1971 novel. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller (play ...
''. But what does my faith believe about
demonic possession Spirit Possession is an altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors which are purportedly caused by the control of a human body and its functions by Supernatural#Spirit, spirits, ghosts, demons, angels, or Deity, gods. The concept ...
? ..The stories chilled me to the bone." Jeffrey Dean Morgan felt similarly: "In the research I did, I started getting creeped out. My girlfriend was like, 'Let's just make sure that we don't actually go near the real Dybbuk Box.'" "We were like, 'Hell, no,'" recalls screenwriter Juliet Snowden. "'We don't want to see it. Don't send us a picture of it.'" Director Ole Bornedal said, "Some really weird things happened. I've never stood underneath a neon light before that wasn't lit, that all of a sudden exploded. The worst thing was, five days after we wrapped the movie, all the
props A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...
burned. This storage house in Vancouver burned down to the ground, and the fire department does not know the cause. I'm not a superstitious man, and I would like to say, 'Yeah, it's just a coincidence.'"


Release


Critical reception

The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, although it received positive feedback from audiences. On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
it has a rating of 39% based on reviews from 101 critics, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The site's consensus states, "It may be based on a true story, but that doesn't excuse the way ''The Possession'' repeatedly falls back on hoary ghost movie clichés – or the unintentional laughs it provides." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film holds a score of 45 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews", based on reviews from 26 critics. Audiences polled by
Cinemascore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
gave it a grade B, an above-average for the horror genre.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
of the
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
gave the film stars, writing, "''
The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on The Exorcist (novel), his 1971 novel. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller (play ...
'' has influenced a lot of films, and ''The Possession'' is one of the better ones".
Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American writer. He is a former columnist and film critic for the '' Chicago Sun-Times'', where he wrote for 39 years dating back to 1986 until his departure in 2025. He co-hosted the television s ...
also gave the movie a B+.


Box office

''The Possession'' grossed $49.1 million in domestic market and $33.8 million in other territories. The film ranked #1 in its opening weekend, taking in an estimated $17.7 million, and an estimated $21.3 million for the full Labor Day Weekend.


Skeptical analysis

A 2019 article in ''
Skeptical Inquirer ''Skeptical Inquirer'' (S.I.) is a bimonthly American general-audience magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) with the subtitle "The Magazine for Science and Reason". The magazine initially focused on investigating clai ...
'' concluded that the supposed dybbuk box from the "Jinx" article "is not a Jewish wine cabinet from Spain but instead a minibar from New York." The author believes Kevin Mannis created the dybbuk box story "from whole cloth", and that "This elaborate story that started the entire legend was not an account of real supernatural events, but instead a fictional backstory he came up with to sell an ordinary and incomplete minibar." The article includes a screen capture of a Facebook post made by Kevin Mannis. The post, dated October 24, 2015, states:


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Possession 2012 films 2012 horror films 2010s American films 2010s English-language films 2010s monster movies American supernatural horror films American monster movies Demons in film Dybbuks in film Films about exorcism Films about Jews and Judaism Films about spirit possession Films based on newspaper and magazine articles Films directed by Ole Bornedal Films produced by Sam Raimi Films scored by Anton Sanko Films set in Brooklyn Films shot in Vancouver Films with screenplays by Stiles White Ghost House Pictures films American religious horror films