Film Filter: Off - I was prompted to see this film by a friend, otherwise I probably wouldn't have gone to watch it. I was pleasantly surprised, seeing as how it follows a very trendy (and often overused) plot-line.
Pros- I definitely have to give props to the cast, as everyone in the film did a really good job of making sure that their characters felt real. The young girl who is featured in the film stood out in particular, as she was the main focus. It's very easy to lose pity for a multi dimensional character when they are poorly played, but she did an excellent job of evoking pity when she was normal, and looking scary as hell when she was possessed.
I thought the music was really creative and well done. Some reviews state that the ominous, low piano transition music was overdone, but I disagree. I liked the simplicity of it, and I think that it worked. It was a nice distraction from the predictable minor orchestral scores you hear too often that allude to distress as soon as they stop or climax.
This movie put a little bit of a twist on possession, as they didn't pursue the Roman Catholic religion. It was, instead, a Jewish family. It was interesting not only because it was unique, but because there was a lot of new information presented in regards to the Jewish faith and its beliefs, which is an untapped resource in regards to possession films. It allowed the film to be successful in all the ways that other exorcism films are, but at the same time set itself apart. Very smart thinking.
Cons- You could almost consider it a pro, but this was the first movie I can recall seeing recently that forced me to actively keep it out of my mind as I went to bed that evening. I'm far beyond the nightmares-from-scary-movies phase, but some things you just can't help being spooked about. Demons, ghosts, and other non-tangible entities are among that for me, thus my fascination with theological thrillers.
Ummm, I'm just going to come right out and say it: the polish spirit-demon-thing looked like a dying Lord Voldemort from the last Harry Potter movie. While we're talking about it, it baffles me to no end how the mother was able to see the face of the spirit inside the girl during the MRI that the she had. That was just a little too tangible for my mind to wrap around.
While we're talking about frustrating, I found it odd that the husband didn't just tell the wife what he suspected. It was obvious that they still cared for each other, so she probably would have at least listened to what he had to say. Frustrating again was the fact that he didn't leave the basketball practice to go see his daughter perform. Not that it was a critical plot point in the story, but the assistant coach is even reminding him about it...better late than never, right?
Wrap up- This is a really good movie. If you want to get a little spooked at the movies, along with an interesting story, I would highly recommend it.
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