The Possession of Hannah Grace (watched November 29, 2018)

2018 saw its fair share of both good and bad horror movie releases, with more of them falling into the first category, at least as far as I’m concerned. I first saw the preview for The Possession of Hannah Grace and automatically gave a sigh of desperation, expecting it to be just another recycled exorcism film. However, I was once again pleasantly surprised with a 2018 horror flick.

This film boasts two characteristics that make it more than just the next addition to an over-saturated horror film genre. As I always do, I will try not to spoil it for anyone; but, you can expect a completely different aspect to the possessed family-priest dynamic that is central to each possession movie. And, the manner in which the evil spirit in this movie gains strength also introduces a fresh new take to the genre. The main protagonist Megan (played by Shay Mitchell), a former cop who decides to leave the field work behind her and instead work the night shift at a neighboring morgue, is faced with a second “problem” to deal with, on top of the evil spirit that is rather intelligently gaining strength. She soon discovers that what is going on at night is weird, even by morgue standards, and has to figure out how best to perform the tasks of her new job without paying the ultimate price in her attempts to do so.

The moments of tension scattered throughout the movie are well built-up and manifest themselves in short bursts of terror, making this film feel even more like a suspense/thriller slasher movie. And, whether to your liking or not, the role of the church is nowhere near as prevalent as with other possession movies, which neither hurts nor helps the plot, in my opinion. As I mentioned before, the ways in which this plot deviates from the normal possession horror film genre is a breath of fresh air; and, the ending is actually one to be celebrated (literally so in my movie viewing experience) because of the job well done with developing a liking for Megan. This film gets a solid 3.5 out of 5 reps from me for the risks taken and execution thereof, while still not trying to be more than it is and sticking to a more-than-doable 90 minute timeframe. Get your shock therapy in with more than enough time left for a nightcap.🤘🏽

Did this film take possession of you?