Monday, September 3, 2012

Blog 2-The Possession, DUN DUN DUN!

Title: The Possession
Rating: PG-13
Run Time: 92 min

Director: Ole Bornedal
Stars: Natasha Calis, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick 
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/the-possession,1176461/critic-review.html

Paragraph 1:
So the writer starts out giving a little bit of background just to set up the reader for a better understanding of what is about to go down. This lovely family has just been through a divorce (conflict number one) and is about to be hit by a second conflict, The Possession.  I really appreciated "family that’s infiltrated by an evil spirit (“dybbuk” in Yiddish).", thank you, that saves me time from going and looking it up myself or having to read the rest of this  trying to use my excellent context clue skills to figure it out. I'm not a thesaurus, true story much like every new horror film that's been released included this one.  

P2:
In this particular broken home the children are two daughters 10 year old Em and 13 yr old Hannah, who take a hard second place in the life of their father, Clyde, who would much rather spend his time coaching his basketball team. He often looses track of time and forgets to do stuff like be a "parent" so when he does get his daughters he indulges them in whatever they want. So, when Em asks dad if she can buy this super creepy "dark wooden box inscribed with Hebrew letters" ultimately sets the film up for the END.

P3:
This paragraph basically states that the cast have no idea that their world is pretty much over even thought the audience does cause in the prologue it showed a woman who tried to destroy the box but failed obviously since now its in the possession of innocent Em.

P4:
Movies about spirits, demons, or in this case dybbuks aren't scary for individuals who "don't believe" in them however the writer explains that even if that is the case "the movie is a cleverly constructed, well-paced piece of hokum". The director is creative when it comes to horror films and the script writer's are given credit to have written this plot out well tying it together with "loud noises and shock cuts"

P5:
I really just love the voice this writer uses, its almost sarcastic "As you may have guessed from the title, Emily becomes possessed by the dybbuk that was locked (not very well) inside the box." Whatever kind of super "dybbuk" is in this doctors are no help and only one lone rabbi, or "tzadok("righteous man") comes to the rescue.
 
P6:
Gives a description of the family and their living situation along with how the girls are vegans.

P7:
explains how this movie is pretty predictable describing how the characters go into the dark room for no good reason.

3 comments:

Amy Bolaski said...


Paula,

When you say, "background", you mean "plot synopsis/plot summary". I like the intro of the "two-conflict" plot arc here (though I don't know whether the film actually deals with/builds on the divorce in a subplot). Your analysis suggests that the review is rather plot heavy in the beginning.

This -- " So, when Em asks dad if she can buy this super creepy "dark wooden box inscribed with Hebrew letters" ultimately sets the film up for the END" is essentially "foreshadowing" ( of a very obvious sort). The fact that the audience knows something the characters don't is called "dramatic irony".

I really like both the actors, although it's pretty unusual for Kyra Sedgwick to star in a horror film. Could be interesting.

Amy Bolaski said...


Paula,

When you say, "background", you mean "plot synopsis/plot summary". I like the intro of the "two-conflict" plot arc here (though I don't know whether the film actually deals with/builds on the divorce in a subplot). Your analysis suggests that the review is rather plot heavy in the beginning.

This -- " So, when Em asks dad if she can buy this super creepy "dark wooden box inscribed with Hebrew letters" ultimately sets the film up for the END" is essentially "foreshadowing" ( of a very obvious sort). The fact that the audience knows something the characters don't is called "dramatic irony".

I really like both the actors, although it's pretty unusual for Kyra Sedgwick to star in a horror film. Could be interesting.

Filipo Bellinghieri said...

Love the Dun Dun Dun
hahaha