Starring: Shane Johnson, Ella Anderson, Julie McNiven, Cara Pifko, Tomas Arana, Dale Dickey, Luke Baines.
Director: David Jung
I remember this movie being okay, mostly in the scary stuff...other than that, I remember this movie having a really arch and mostly irritating premise...and now that I've started it I'm seeing it all over again. The general idea: that a grieving man, angry at the world, has decided that he apparently has the influence and importance in the universe to prove religion is a bunch of bullplop by filming himself poking demonic stuff with a stick and seeing if it works. It's not a bad premise, truth be told...it at least justifies the found footage device well enough, but it still basically makes a smug, douchey moron the center of attention. And that's exactly what he is: a smug asshole who treats everyone with any faith like they're dirt and moves on. I mean, who is this guy who thinks that he will be the first person in civilization to prove there's no such thing as spirits, so how can we possibly like someone that arrogant? Not to mention a documentary filmmaker making something that is undeniably biased, as well as being about NOTHING happening (since his "proof" is doing religious things and getting no result which, in his mind, proves his point)? So, main character=unlikeable asshole, so...I guess we're off to a good start?
Of course, it wouldn't be a horror movie if it didn't bite him so...obviously, his poking actually does get him somewhere. The trouble is that we don't like him, so we could really care less when he might be in danger from a couple of crazy people, or getting possessed with demons. It'd work better if he was an embittered, arrogant jerk and was actually just curious. The premise of "I want to get myself possessed out of curiosity" or seeking proof is much more interesting then the negative vibe the movie offers right out of the gate. These scenes would be genuinely interesting if he wasn't so smugly skeptical about everything.
The "necromancy" scene is actually a pretty fun scene: it has the air of relative truth that makes it feel very read. The creepy mortician, Michael taking some weird drugs and having some teeth sewn into his stomach...it's all very absurd and feels very much like some weird thing that would happen if you indulged a crazy person. It has a good resolution as a scene, too: his apparent possession by a spirit and feeling like he was with his dead wife...it begs the question why he keeps going, though. I mean, sure, a skeptic can find a lack of spiritual evidence just as easily as a person of faith can find spirtual evidence, no matter what is actually happening.
I will say that there is a nice progression with Michael from douchey unbeliever to douchey believer...he never stops being douchey, though. Actor Shane Johnson does a pretty good job with the performance, though: it's very natural, even while unlikable, but honestly the unlikable part is clearly deliberate.
The movie does some neat sequences. The flow and cohesion between scenes isn't quite there, but I like the back and forth of religion and science. Michael does his demonic and spiritualism stuff, and then sees a Psychiatrist, and both basically end with what mostly the same loud noise and choppy editing...but hey, they're mostly somewhat effective.
This movie seems allergic to doing anything with supporting cast members whatsoever. Michael has a sister who live with him, and a Daughter, and neither have any real personalities. The sister never even seems to have a close-up of her face, and all she does is basically say "Michael, are you okay? You're acting weird" and then vanishing into whatever hole she apparently lives in. It doesn't make any sense: she was Anna on Supernatural! She's kind of a recognizable actress. You'd think they'd have at least one close-up. That being said, the scene where a possessed Michael feels up his sister in her sleep is legitimately creepy. Very creepy, actually. Better movie creepy.
Michael's pleading with the Demon to leave and getting a response...it's a nice scene. So is his desperate run through the people who did the experimenting on him in the first place. It's actually a nicely cathartic scene for the audience: Michael gets his comeuppance. It allows for him to move towards a more sympathetic direction, too: Michael the dick has become Michael the desperate, now that his dickery has landed him in genuine peril. It's a nice change in direction.
There's some fun stuff going on once Michael is fully struggling against his possession. Unlike most possession movies, Michael has no place to turn. There's no Priest to come perform an exorcism, It's an interesting position for the film to take: one man alone against an entity inside him. The sequences of him being thrown around, a close-up of him stitching up a pentagram he carved into his own chest...they're effective.
I feel like there's only so many times Michael and the Demon can argue about killing Ellie. It's basically been done over and over again for half an hour. I get that the kid is really what's at stake, but the repeating of the argument really isn't doing much for anything.
Hey, finally a close-up for Julie McNiven...right before Michael snaps her neck. Well, thanks movie. I guess.
Maybe if I knew any facts about Ellie-does she like applesauce or something-I'd be more apt to worry about her as her possessed father chases her around. Otherwise she's just a generic child. I'm not saying that I DON'T care...it'd just be way more suspenseful if I felt any sort of connection.
The final shot: the actual imagery of what happened to his wife is genuinely effective on an emotional level. I might have chosen to intercut it into the chase scene of Michael going after his Daughter, given how the finale ends up working. But, hey, it was still sad and affecting.
Final Thoughts: As for real depth...there isn't a lot here. I don't think there's much of a metaphor-maybe some razor thin "dealing with grief" subtext-going on. It's more of a character piece and, unfortunately, the character doesn't have an awful lot of depth. There's progression, and that's something, and we do see the man develop from one stage to another and Shane Johnson gives a solid enough performance. The effects work and scare gags are mostly well executed even if they are superficial in the end. Not too bad a film in the end, especially for found-footage.
Final rating: Two and a half stars.
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