Synopsis: Ava has spent the last month possessed by a demon and must now start rebuilding her life: her relationships with friends and family, her job and her apartment whilst also trying to understand why she was possessed
Director: Jordan Galland (also written by)
Starring: Louisa Krause
Review: I’m not sure why ‘Ava’s Possessions’ isn’t getting more love during ‘Women in Horror Month‘. It’s a comedy, mystery, horror which follows the titular ‘Ava’ as she tries to rebuild her life following a demon possession.
We enter Ava’s world, briefly seeing her exorcism during the opening credits, then as she faces her family. It’s a world where things like demon possessions and having to go to ‘Spiritual Possessions Anonymous’ is almost normal and doesn’t carry any stigma.
I really liked the colour palette used by Galland. The mix of neon colours against dark backgrounds works well and gives the movie a slightly surreal quality. I also liked the mix of tight shots which made you feel part of the conversation against the wider shots which gave the actors room to move. In some respects, it reminded me of the movie ‘Amelie‘ although I couldn’t say exactly why.
Ava’s Possessions is listed on IMDB as a comedy, mystery and horror and certainly, the ‘who done it’ aspect of how Ava became possessed and exactly what her family knows kept me gripped throughout and the ending was not quite what I had expected, although it did tie all the ends up nicely.
The acting throughout is solid with no overly weak performances (perhaps one or two characters needed further development, but that doesn’t take away from the story). Certainly, Krause does very well as the struggling Ava, trying to battle a very real demon whilst navigating a world she doesn’t remember. How Ava’s friends treated her post-possession contrasted well with her new friends from ‘SPA’ who understood what she had been through. Ava’s insecurity and rejection by her ‘before possession’ friends clearly plays out in her interactions with her ‘after possession’ friends, leading to some poor choices but it’s these character flaws which make Ava relatable and likeable.
It’s a very self-aware movie which plays certain aspects firmly tongue-in-cheek – a nice counter to other ‘demon possession’ movies and TV shows but does doff it’s cap to those movies and one reason I’ll definitely be watching Ava get possessed again.
And a bit of geek Easter egg, if you ever wondered what happened to Carol Kane‘s witch after ‘The Princess Bride‘ keep an eye out for her here…….