Obsessed - DVD

Content: Actually, Alex (Michelle Argyris) is extremely sad when she returns from visiting her grandmother, who has cancer. But her best friend Jess (Shantelle Canzanese) knows how to cheer Alex up: by moving into their first home together. The only downside: they have to share living space with Bree (Vanessa Broze). Not only is she extremely bitchy, but she's also having a secret affair with Brian (Kevin Jake Walker), Alex's boyfriend. Of course she doesn't know anything about it and is just happy not to have to be alone in this difficult time for her. But Alex soon realizes that her new home is not the idyll it first looked like. Strange noises and mysterious apparitions keep the young woman awake at night. And when she discovers strange wounds on her body, she realizes there's someone else here - someone who wants to take possession of her body...

With his directorial debut, Possessed, filmmaker Greg A. Sager has staged a virtual best-of of familiar ghost and exorcist horror films. Sometimes the borrowings are rather hidden, but in other cases scenes are taken almost 1:1 from the known role models. Especially The Exorcist is very obviously used by Sager. But genre fans will also recognize Poltergeist, Amityville Horror and The Omen. Unfortunately, such homage inevitably brings with it comparisons to the originals. And that's where this low budget production invariably draws the short straw.

This is not only due to the not really groundbreaking script, but also to the sometimes arguably modest performances of the actors. Especially leading actress Michelle Argyris, who makes her feature film debut here, is clearly still a bit out of her depth, especially in more dramatic moments, when she has to shed a tear out of sheer desperation. It's true that Oscar-worthy performances are a rarity in the horror genre anyway. But good actors would have been simply necessary here, in order to be able to console over the weaknesses of the script and the lack of originality.

But even if possessed is not quite a big hit, the film has a decent atmosphere and some successful scary moments, which weigh all the more positive, especially given the low production costs and the lack of experience of director and lead actress. Not only does it become clear here that the film is based on a certain love for the genre, but also that there is potential here that with a little more courage to be independent and a little more budget (which could especially be invested in better actors) could really produce successful genre goods. For the debut there are no enthusiasm storms, but despite numerous weaknesses but still a deserved: worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The image of the DVD is very clean and the overall sharpness is on a decent level. The colouring, on the other hand, looks a little pale and the contrasts in some scenes a little overblown, which comes a little at the expense of sharpness of detail. The sound remains largely unspectacular, presenting dialogue clearly and well intelligible in both the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix and the DTS track, and also providing some decent surround moments every now and then, especially in the final third. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, the DVD holds just under 21 minutes of cut or extended scenes, as well as four minutes of outtakes ready. Both extras are however only in English original version without subtitle option. Finally, the trailer and other program tips are offered by the provider.

Conclusion: Possessed makes very shameless use of genre classics such as The Exorcist or Poltergeist, but due to the low budget and the only limited talented actors never even comes close to their level. Still, for a low-budget production, the film delivers some extremely well-done moments and a decent creep factor to offer, so despite its obvious flaws, the film still deserves a worth seeing in the end

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp