Ava's Possessions

Overall this was a fun movie, with good acting, and some neat effects. The story has some ok twists, but I was hoping they'd be a little better to really pull it all together.

I felt like they didn't do quite enough with the main story or the main sub-plot with her ex-possessed friend, but they did some fun stuff with both and I had a good time watching it. The particular flavor of dark humor seemed not to land well with some of the reviewers, but I liked it.

They have a few scenes with some neat filming effects as well, twisting the camera into unique angles.

"Ava's Possessions" follows the titular character, a young woman who wakes up one day tied to her bed after an exorcism. Having wrought havoc on the public during her demonic spree, she is ordered by the court to a "spiritual possessions anonymous" group to reorient herself. But in making amends with the people she wronged, she uncovers a plot deeper than mere possession.

While it may sound like a substandard and silly representation of the possession horror genre, "Ava's Possessions" is really a morbidly funny, mysterious, and amusing post-millennial riff on a subgenre that has been drowned in terrible found-footage films and badly-scripted Z-grade movies.

This film presents the aftermath of demonic possession in a contemporary world, albeit a topsy-turvy one in which such things as group therapy for ex-possessees are a real thing, and friends are insouciant to the fact that you've been taken over by a demonic entity. It's these kinds of idiosyncrasies that make the film slightly humorous, but it never really at any point becomes a comedy. The film is nicely shot and makes use of an overt neon color palette, which is rather beautiful. The performances overall are very good as well, with Louisa Krause as the semi-cynical Ava. Carol Kane also has a cameo as a downtown New York witch/botánica proprietor.

Overall, "Ava's Possessions" is an amusing, slightly sardonic, and energetic horror movie. It is not profound by any means, but it is a self-aware rewriting of the conventional possession film that came to be defined in the wake of "The Exorcist." It's a playful twisting of conventions, is nicely shot, and considerably well-acted. Those expecting a B or Z-grade possession flick should be nicely surprised.

This movie drew my attention due to its somewhat original premise. Instead of focusing on her possession, this movie asks the question, what is life like AFTER your demon has been exorcised? It's a question not many movies have asked, so I sat down and took it in.

AP has some starts strong, with a mystery at hand. I love movies that keep me off-kilter and I wasn't quite sure what was happening. This puts the viewer in the shoes of Ava, who also has no memories of her possession and therefore, no idea of the damage she wrought. There is also a lot of dark comedy here, with the rehab for the once possessed and Ava dealing with the things she did (beat up people, slept with strangers etc)

Sadly, the movie loses focus and gets convoluted, with too many players on the board. They also have sub-plots like a girl who wants her demon back and a serial killer on the loose, that just didn't do anything but confuse the main plot. If they had left this stuff on the back burner, Ava's Possessions would've been a much stronger film.

Points for originality and the acting is pretty decent, but unfortunately they tried to do too much and it ended up taking away from the main story and weakening the entire flick.

This movie is not a comedy but I liked it! This put a less scary twist on possession with a different take on the story line! It would of been cool if there was a little more to the effects but for a B class movie - not bad! I would put this in the casual viewing category for myself but definitely a good choice to add to your watchlist. Giving a 6 for thinking outside the box and watch worthy~

Normally, a possession movie ends with the victim baths in sunlight or in some cases wanders into the dark. In "Ava's Possessions" it's just the beginning as the priest commences the procedure along with opening credit. There's quite the idea here, comically displays the aftereffect of the unfortunate event, but it becomes too busy with overload of subplots, colors and eventually too plodding for its own good.

It begins right after the exorcism, a young girl must face the consequences of her actions, even though she is not responsible for them. Soon she joins a support group filled with equally outlandish characters. This is a good quirky premise, it even includes actual collateral of damage to property as well as a couple of comical antics.

Mystery or horror aspect is not entirely prevalent as it dabbles more on world affairs. Most of the time is spend dealing with real life problem and threats, although it plays with the theme to make it as though there's more than what it seems. Nevertheless, it doesn't peak more than a few shock value.

The use of satire is sometimes decent, but it tries to make connection from possession to real life problems. These analogies might be appealing at first, yet it repeats itself too much. Furthermore, the design for costumes and setting is heavily colored, which can be distracting at times. Acting from the cast is not bad, but there are too many characters to distribute the focus evenly.

It's a nice twist on the genre, the mix of thriller and occasional satire might work as well, but it tries to fit too much into overwhelming and messy presentation.