Possessed, The (2009)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
The third documentary from Spooked Productions who specialize in taking a look at real life cases. Using actual photos, recreations and experts on the matter, this film takes a look at what has become known as the Watseka Possession. In 1865, Mary Roff became possessed and eventually died. Twelve years later another girl in the town, Lurrancy Vennum, became possessed with what appeared to be the spirit of Mary. I think the success of a film like this is going to depend on the person actually watching it. Speaking for myself, I love watching these true story cases and the stuff that we'd see on Unsolved Mysteries years and years ago. In order for a film like this to work I think it's important if the person watching actually believes something like this can happen and I do. Now, the most important thing is for the movie to be creepy and this one here does have some effective moments but not enough to be a complete winner. The actual case on display here is a very interesting one and the mystery surrounding what actually happened is something the filmmakers really focus on and I think they milk it for all its worth. Seeing some real items that were used on "crazy" people back then was quite eerie especially one chair that was used to "calm" people but some people could end up spending six months just sitting there. The one big negative is that other possessed stories are inter cut into the main one and I think this was a problem. These side interviews take away from the main story but the side ones are also so small that we never really get to learn too much about them. There are rumors that this story was one of the major influences on what would become THE EXORCIST so fans of that film might be interested in checking this one out.
