The Possession Experiment

I watched this film because the plot sounded like a different twist on a worn-out sub-genre, and because it was made by a local production company (I even recognized some of the exterior shooting locations.) The concept was OK, most of the special FX were decent and the editing of the horrific visions was done well, albeit much like a music video, which is what I believe the production company is known for. However, the movie turned out to be yet another mediocre indie disappointment due to poor directing, a bad script and, as pretty much every other reviewer has mentioned, absolutely abysmal acting. I think if they'd taken their time to produce a solid short film based on the concept they would have been better off. Feature films are not their strong point.

The opening sequence was actually surprisingly well done. You go in knowing this will be low budget. And after reading the ACTUAL budget they accomplished a lot with what they had. After the first scene the rest looks like it was shot on a cell phone and I couldn't tell if the voices were out of sync on purpose or just my TV. It was slow to the horror after the first scene but the few deaths towards the end were really good. A few things I am very confused/concerned about though: 1) he and his roommate have bunk beds? And his roommate has sex with a drunk girl on his bed? 2) he basically raped the med student but we never see that have repercussions. 3) Why was the house completely empty except the occult stuff and a piano? (Budget cuts I assume). I probably wouldn't RECOMMEND this movie to anyone but it wasn't a heap of trash.

Theology student Brandon Jensen (Chris Minor) is doing his class assignment on exorcism. He and his class partner Clay Harper (Jake Brinn) do some research. They sell passes to their possession attempt to generate internet funding. They recruit medical student Leda Morgan (Nicky Jasper) and hire a cultist to raise a demonic spirit.

This small budget indie may have an interesting idea, but this movie cannot escape its poor execution. First, the work group should be bigger than two people from the start. There is no reason to not have the girl right away. I like the crowd funding idea. They could make a bigger meal out of hiring a wacky dark magic witch. The reconnection with the father is a little abrupt. I like the idea, but the execution is wanting. A lot of this movie is flawed in that way.

First of all, the story is solid. This could could have been a really good movie worth a good director and cast. With that said, the cast is not that bad. If you go into it knowing it's not going to be a great movie, the majorly of the cast is not as awful as some comments say. The worse is definitely the main actor who seems to think that every type of emotion can only be portrayed by touching his face. I challenge you to watch this movie and take a drink every time he touches his face. I do mean drink, not a shot because you'll die. Overall, not bad as long as you go in with that in mind.

When "The Possession Experiment" opened i was greeted with a film which appeared to have some form of production value, this was a lie, as i think most of the budget must have been spent on that one scene, that single scene gave me hope, hope that was eventually possessed by the devil himself and subsequently destroyed, the actors were wooden and their characters were two dimensional, and i felt the "twist" was underwhelming, i also don't understand what happened with the editing and cinematography as at some points i was like "wow that was shot really well" then 80-90% was poorly edited and the lighting was just awful, i am now currently in mid seance as i type out this review, conducting an experiment to be possessed myself so i can forget about what i have just watched.