Marcas da Possessão

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.

A girl recovering from demonic possession is forced into therapy, but flashbacks make her doubt the origin of her troubles.

What if we did a coming to terms story, but instead of drug addiction it's ... demonic? I dunno, wouldn't that be kinda lame? No, think about it - we set up all the usual conflicts but make the heavy stuff literal without losing the METAPHOR.

This really rambles on. I do like the concept, and the performances are good. But the dialogue is sooo Brooklyn Jewish, the story doesn't take itself seriously enough to create drama or frights, the humour is "gentle", and enough already with the daughter-mother antagonism. Also too many characters, and the most interesting one - the empathetic girl friend - trails off.

Directed by the writer, and I guess he did the photography, editing, music and effects too. Just not enough contrasts for good story telling. Music is interesting, but it never lays off and leaves a taste of the elevator. There is one brilliant smash cut: punch lands on a ball break at a pool table.

Overall - pleasant viewing with some atmosphere, but no real spark. Reminded me of Life After Beth.

"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 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~

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.