Ava's Possessions

"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.

About 20 minutes in I had to check that I wasn't watching a series pilot. AVA'S POSSESSION doesn't really take off like a movie should. The back-story is a mismatch of flash-backs and hints from the family that don't accelerate the plot much. I realise I'm supposed to suspend disbelief a bit more than usual due to the genre, but the alternate world, where possession is relatively common, wasn't as fleshed out as I thought it should be.

That aside, it is funny in parts, and watchable in a very predictable and cliched way. Overall: a bit flat, a bit lazy and nothing to get excited about.

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~

This is one of the most original movies i have seen recently.

Creative and brilliant.

It's difficult to categorize it. Indie/art horror with offbeat comedy elements, also having the structure of a crime/mystery movie, without taking itself too seriously.

The ending could have been better, but it's not bad.

This could be a great series. There are many interesting ideas here which are not being explored or exploited, and that would be an impossible thing in 90 minutes.

In any case, if you are looking for a weird, original and pretty interesting movie, this is it.