Here we are. Another Hump Day.

source: Wikipedia

Now, when I watch movies at home, I usually try to keep a pad of paper or a Word doc open and just stream my thoughts as the film progresses. In going over my so called “notes” for this film, I decided my play-by-play stream of consciousness was coherent enough to just copy/paste here as a review. Though, a word of warning, my stream of consciousness doesn’t care about spoiling it if you haven’t seen it. Just, be aware of that.

So without further ado, let me introduce myself.

Shanna’s

Spoilerifically Hilarious In-real-time Thoughts

Or Shanna’s S.H.I.T. for short.

i like how they don’t play around with the “the box has something in it”. no wasting time here. we all know what it’s supposed to be about, etc., no need for time wasting set up. let’s get right into the mix here.

My stream-of-consciousness self doesn’t capitalize. Deal with it.

i’m not okay, however, with the character development of the whole divorce/kids and dad thing. sort of, but it just seems forced at moments. — perhaps i’m wrong though. maybe that’s what teenage girls are just like, cause i certainly wasn’t, so i don’t know..

“i think you’ll feel better if you just stop giving a shit” …. spoken like a true teenager.

source: Ehmgeew on Tumblr

 Who could possibly embody this idea better than George? (From Dead Like Me, by the way.)

i love that the box opens by itself. that’s cool.

sometimes i hate the whole mirror shit — so she’s brushing her teeth, looking into a mirror, and doesn’t see the bug flying around behind her? and what’s with all the running water??

Yes, because as everyone knows, when you’re brushing your teeth you’re far too caught up in staring at yourself and making sure to do 32 cycles of up and down to notice anything happening behind you. Am I right? I know I’m right, because this is what all the movies and t.v. shows show us. Focus everyone, focus on those teeth!

Oh, and waste water like it’s 1999. Or 1899. Or 1599. Or some time period that makes the “don’t they know better than to waste water?” joke funny. But then again, she is like 10 or something years old, so I guess it’s completely normal. Or not. My kids harp on me about wasting water all the time thanks to their GREEN education in school. And they’re both younger than her. Hrm. She’s just wasteful, I guess.

definitely has some nice creepy touches… the sounds of eating suddenly seem sinister..

i like the whole child abuse aspect.

ha. new dudes a dick.

i like that dad took matters into his own hands. he don’t fuck around. very go getter. i like that.

ha. i knew mom would come bursting in, that was fairly obvious.

the movie’s an hour in, how long before mom figures it all out?

haha. cool. it could be seen on an mri. ha.

i’m assuming there’s a conversation missing somewhere, where he describes what the issue is to her mom, she dismisses it, and later becomes a believer – awkward lack of discussion. maybe unnecessary, but it’s still left out.

i like the family aspect of the ceremony. that’s cool.

they’ve unleashed a demon on a hospital. awe-some. though, seriously, i already know it’s not going to end as well as it possibly could — how neat would it be if it was a screwed up ending and the demon gets the girl’s body, and just starts slaughtering people? all cause of a yard sale…

Oh, wait, they already did that, didn’t they?

cool. it climbed out of his mouth. that was neat.

haha. i knew it was gonna get hit by a truck.

interesting how much influence it wields even outside the box, even locked inside.

anyway, overall, i liked it. i have a special place in my heart for possession/exorcism/demons/etc. i like what they did with this one. it was AWESOME to see the jewish version of a typically catholic/christian demon possession, and it’s especially creepy the weird shit that went on behind the scenes. must do more research into the dybbuk/dybbuk box thing. apparently that shit will freak you out.

heck, and it’s even based off some “real “events, in that a “dybbuk box” was bought on ebay, and said to be haunted — strange events and unfortunate occurings happened to the box’s owners and anyone in proximity (nightmares, hair falling out, one woman had a stroke, allergic reactions, welt, hives, etc.) And it contained weird shit to boot.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dybbuk_box

the real box and it’s stories.. http://www.dibbukbox.com/story.htm

http://web.archive.org/web/20051105000557/www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/rubyc/eBay_dibbuk.htm

Well, if you’ve read to this point it means you must have already seen it, or if you haven’t seen it, I just ruined it for you.

My sincerest apologies.

That said, it’s not a bad flick as long as your expectations aren’t too high. If you’re already a fan of the whole “possession/exorcism” genre of horror films, you pretty much know exactly what’s going to happen whether it’s about Jewish demons or Japanese revenge spirits. In that case, it’s more about what they did differently, and I think The Possession will stand out for 1) actually being a film about demonic possession that wasn’t about Christianity (which counts as unique in my book) and 2) it had a few really neat moments, was pretty well-acted, and the story wasn’t bad considering the real story it’s based on. If you haven’t checked out those links yet, please do. The real story behind the Dybbuk Box is about as interesting (if a lot shorter to read) than the film.

Perhaps it’s an even greater coincidence that I finally wrote this blog up about The Possession and The Last Exorcism 2 is due out this Friday. I watched the first ages ago, and there is indeed on my hard drive another Shanna’s S.H.I.T. for it. I plan to go see the 2nd this weekend, because I can and a solo trip to the theater in my tiny burg is less than $15 bucks – including popcorn, drink, and a candy of my choosing.

Next HPH – The Last Exorcism 1 & 2.