Despite the abundance of films with possession, exorcism or general Catholicism as their inspiration ranging from the appalling Devil Inside to the unequalled impact of The Exorcist it remains a topic that attracts filmmakers possibly more than any other. One reason may be based in the familiarity we all experience; most of us have some church attendance in our past or present and if an audience already knows and recognises the symptoms of possession following years of a media barrage does the filmmaker need to fully explain it?
Another reason may be that the supernatural remains genuinely terrifying and perhaps where we all accept that zombies and vampires don’t exist (maybe…) there is still something about ghosts, demons and the afterlife that linger on as possibilities. The latest addition then comes from writer and director David Jung with his debut feature The Possession Of Michael King. Following the sudden death of his wife documentary filmmaker Michael King (Shane Johnson) decides to base his next project around the search for proof of the existence of the supernatural, or more specifically the afterlife.
Much to the chagrin of his sister and erstwhile assistant he allows himself to become the subject for necromancers, witches and the like as they test their darkest and most evil spells upon him. Despite the fact that pretty much everything you will see in The Possession Of Michael King is familiar it is all put together with a certain amount of style and credibility.
The performances are intense and convincing enough to avoid the hammy pitfalls that beset films of this type and the dialogue is not to cliché-ridden, allowing the cast to deliver their lines with naturality. The real strength here though is in Jung’s direction. With a delicate touch rarely seen in a first time director he manages to effectively create a real sense of discomfort and tension. There are few histrionics and overly dramatic campiness as the possession begins to take hold of Michael. Instead there is a steady yet noticeable personality change that begins to manifest itself in increasingly disturbing and malevolent ways.
The dark tone of the film is very reminiscent of Sinister and Insidious which is definitely not a bad thing. There are some issues though. Some of the supporting cast are a little troublesome, as if lifted from a live action ghost train and offer little more than some stereotypical exposition. The finale is also a little disappointing but this is a common problem with the genre and the film taken as a whole makes up for this failing.
OVERALL SUMMARY
On the whole this is a decent film with some strong elements that bodes well for Jung’s future filmmaking. It isn’t groundbreaking but given some of the recent ill-fated attempts, The Possession Of Michael King is definitely at the upper end of the supernatural spectrum.
