1.The Possession (Lionsgate, 2,816 Theaters, 92 Minutes, Rated PG-13): I have two rules for horror films. One, be wary of any horror film that says it is based on a true story. Because, more often than not, the film is so far away from the original true story that it doesn’t even qualify as “true” anymore. Second, try to avoid any horror film that is rated PG-13 and runs around 90 minutes. Not that a film with that rating or that short can’t be scary, but, more often than not, it means that the film was edited to get as many people to see it as possible on the opening weekend, most likely before word of mouth kills the film.
This film centers on a young girl who finds a cool, antique box at a yard sale. Unfortunately for the kid, the box is a dybbuk box. Dybbuks are evil creatures from Hebrew mythology, believed to be souls of dead people, who take over unwitting victims. Hence the title.
The film has a good cast (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick) and is produced by Sam Raimi. But I don’t know if that is enough to overcome the strikes against it.
