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The Possession

  • 20122012
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
60K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
The Possession (2012)
A young girl buys an antique box at a yard sale, unaware that inside the collectible lives a malicious ancient spirit. The girl's father teams with his ex-wife to find a way to end the curse upon their child.
Play trailer1:01
5 Videos
40 Photos
  • Horror
  • Mystery
  • Thriller

A young girl buys an antique box at a yard sale, unaware that inside the collectible lives a malicious ancient spirit. The girl's father teams with his ex-wife to find a way to end the curse... Read allA young girl buys an antique box at a yard sale, unaware that inside the collectible lives a malicious ancient spirit. The girl's father teams with his ex-wife to find a way to end the curse upon their child.A young girl buys an antique box at a yard sale, unaware that inside the collectible lives a malicious ancient spirit. The girl's father teams with his ex-wife to find a way to end the curse upon their child.

IMDb RATING
5.9/10
60K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Ole Bornedal
  • Writers
    • Juliet Snowden
    • Stiles White
    • Leslie Gornstein(article "Jinx in a Box")
  • Stars
    • Natasha Calis
    • Jeffrey Dean Morgan
    • Kyra Sedgwick
Top credits
  • Director
    • Ole Bornedal
  • Writers
    • Juliet Snowden
    • Stiles White
    • Leslie Gornstein(article "Jinx in a Box")
  • Stars
    • Natasha Calis
    • Jeffrey Dean Morgan
    • Kyra Sedgwick
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 245User reviews
    • 266Critic reviews
    • 45Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 6 nominations

    Videos5

    No. 2
    Trailer 1:01
    No. 2
    No. 1
    Trailer 2:31
    No. 1
    The Possession
    Trailer 2:24
    The Possession
    No. 1
    Clip 0:36
    No. 1
    Dibbuk Documentary
    Featurette 3:11
    Dibbuk Documentary

    Photos40

    Kyra Sedgwick, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Matisyahu, and Natasha Calis in The Possession (2012)
    Jeffrey Dean Morgan in The Possession (2012)
    Kyra Sedgwick and Madison Davenport in The Possession (2012)
    Matisyahu and Natasha Calis in The Possession (2012)
    Natasha Calis in The Possession (2012)
    Natasha Calis in The Possession (2012)
    The Possession (2012)
    The Possession (2012)
    The Possession (2012)
    The Possession (2012)
    The Possession (2012)
    The Possession (2012)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Natasha Calis
    Natasha Calis
    • Emas Em
    Jeffrey Dean Morgan
    Jeffrey Dean Morgan
    • Clydeas Clyde
    Kyra Sedgwick
    Kyra Sedgwick
    • Stephanieas Stephanie
    Madison Davenport
    Madison Davenport
    • Hannahas Hannah
    Matisyahu
    Matisyahu
    • Tzadokas Tzadok
    Grant Show
    Grant Show
    • Brettas Brett
    Rob LaBelle
    Rob LaBelle
    • Russellas Russell
    Nana Gbewonyo
    Nana Gbewonyo
    • Dariusas Darius
    Anna Hagan
    Anna Hagan
    • Eleanoras Eleanor
    Brenda Crichlow
    Brenda Crichlow
    • Miss Shandyas Miss Shandy
    • (as Brenda M. Crichlow)
    Jay Brazeau
    Jay Brazeau
    • Professor McMannisas Professor McMannis
    Iris Quinn
    Iris Quinn
    • Doctoras Doctor
    Graeme Duffy
    • Lab Techas Lab Tech
    David Hovan
    David Hovan
    • Adanas Adan
    Chris Shields
    Chris Shields
    • Assistant Coachas Assistant Coach
    Adam Young
    • Prestonas Preston
    Jim Thorburn
    Jim Thorburn
    • First Responderas First Responder
    Quinn Lord
    Quinn Lord
    • Studentas Student
    • Director
      • Ole Bornedal
    • Writers
      • Juliet Snowden
      • Stiles White
      • Leslie Gornstein(article "Jinx in a Box")
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    The basketball coach Clyde and his wife Stephanie divorced a couple of months ago and their teenage daughter Hannah and the girl Emily 'Em' live with their mother and spend the weekends with their father. One day, Clyde stops his car in a yard sale and Em buys an antique carved box and becomes obsessed with it. Em finds the hidden lock and releases an evil spirit that possesses her. Soon Clyde discovers that Em has a problem, but his ex-wife and her boyfriend Brett do not pay attention to him and get a restraining order against Clyde. Clyde seeks out Professor McMannis and when he sees the box, he explains that it is the Dibbuk Box, where a fiend is trapped inside. He also explains that the box should not be open; otherwise the person will be possessed by the spirit. Now Clyde travels to a Jewish community in New York and the rabbi's son Tzadok returns with him expecting to exorcise Em to save the girl. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
    • swarm of moths
    • sister sister relationship
    • possessed girl
    • dybbuk box
    • father daughter relationship
    • 40 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Fear the Demon that doesn't fear God.
    • Genres
      • Horror
      • Mystery
      • Thriller
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving violence and disturbing sequences
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The demon in the box speaks Polish.
    • Goofs
      When Clyde is shown lying on his couch throwing a basketball up in the air, a band-aid is seen on the back of his hand, before his hand gets stabbed.
    • Quotes

      Tzadok: I hate hospitals... people die here.

    • Connections
      Featured in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: Insidious (2014)
    • Soundtracks
      You're a Heavenly Thing
      Written by Jack Little (as Little Jack Little) and Joe Young

      Performed by Mel Tormé

      Courtesy of Capitol Records

      Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

    User reviews245

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Has touches that had to be influenced by producer Sam Raimi.
    'THE POSSESSION': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

    A Jewish exorcism film for a change! This one revolves around Jewish folklore of the Dybbuk Box (which began in the 1920s), a box used to contain an evil Jewish demon. A father and his two daughters buy the box at a garage sale and one of the young girls becomes possessed by the demon inside it. The film was produced by Sam Raimi (and released through his horror studio 'Ghost House Pictures') and directed by Ole Bornedal. It was written by Juliet Snowden and Stiles White (who also co-wrote the Sam Raimi produced horror film 'BOOGEYMAN' and the Nicolas Cage thriller 'KNOWING') and stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick. The movie plays out like a pretty routine possession movie but it does have some pretty nice scares in it and the dybbuk storyline is interesting.

    The film is based on an article by LA Times reporter Leslie Gornstein, called 'Jinx in A Box', about the history of the Dybbuk Box which was brought to America by a Holocaust survivor and passed around to various people who all reported horrific experiences from it. In the film a young girl named Em (Natasha Calis) finds the box at a garage sale and asks her dad, Clyde (Morgan), to buy it for her. Clyde was recently divorced from his wife, Stephanie (Sedgwick), and has his two daughters, Em and Hannah (Madison Davenport), for the weekend. Em takes the box home and opens it and soon strange occurrences begin happening. This causes further conflict between Clyde and Stephanie as Clyde is blamed for his daughter's strange behavior. Clyde soon discovers Em's possessed and learns the history of the box. He then travels to a local Hasidic community for help and enlists the assistance of a young jew named Tzadok (Matisyahu), who is able to perform exorcisms.

    Bornedal also directed (as well as wrote) the Danish thriller 'NIGHTWATCH' and it's 1997 American remake of the same name (although Steven Soderbergh rewrote that screenplay) starring Ewan McGregor. He also directed and co-wrote the 2007 Danish horror film 'THE SUBSTITUTE' (also released by Ghost House Pictures, in America). I'm not familiar with his work but I really liked his directing on this film. It has that classic campy horror feel to it, with touches that had to be influenced by Sam Raimi (as it often feels like one of his films). The movie is often funny, in seemingly unintentional ways, but it's never too over the top. The comedy never takes you out of the creepy mood of the film and although the script is routine the film is always intriguing, thanks to the excellent filmmaking. Morgan is good in the lead and Natasha Calis is also impressive in the pivotal creepy role. To many it might just seem like a bad horror film but if you're a fan of the genre you'll probably get a big kick out of it's style and the enormous fun it has with the material.

    Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hh6duVlIQk
    helpful•18
    6
    • Hellmant
    • Sep 21, 2012

    FAQ2

    • Is this movie based on a true story?
    • What are the differences between the Theatrical Version and the Unrated Version?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 31, 2012 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Canada
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • English
      • Polish
      • Yiddish
    • Also known as
      • Dibbuk Box
    • Filming locations
      • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Ghost House Pictures
      • North Box Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $14,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $49,130,154
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $17,732,480
      • Sep 2, 2012
    • Gross worldwide
      • $85,446,075
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 32 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Datasat
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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