Line #29 Film/ThePossession


1	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_possession.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:310:Those moths are gonna leave a full stomach.]]
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4	''The Possession'' is a 2012 supernatural horror film directed by Ole Bornedal and co-produced by Creator/SamRaimi. It was released in the United States on August 31, 2012, with the film premiering at the [=Film4=] [=FrightFest=].
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6	Clyde (Creator/JeffreyDeanMorgan), a recent divorcee, takes his daughters Hannah (Creator/MadisonDavenport) and Em (Creator/NatashaCalis) to a yard sale, where Em picks a beautiful wooden box carved with Hebrew letters and no clear lock or latch to open it with. [[ArtifactOfDoom A box]] [[HearingVoices that whispers.]] And has a tendency to telekinetically thrash and [[PsychicNosebleed physically distress]] those it dislikes.
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8	Throughout the course of a month, Em is ensnared by the [[SealedEvilInACan Dybbuk trapped inside the box]] as it slowly [[DemonicPossession possesses]] her. Can Clyde and ex-wife Stephanie (Creator/KyraSedgwick) figure out what is happening to their daughter in time, or will she be [[LossOfIdentity lost forever]]?
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10	The film differs from standard ghost or demonic possession horror films through drawing on Hebrew folklore to create the spiritual nemesis facing the family.
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12	[[SimilarlyNamedWorks Not to be confused]] with the 1981 European film ''{{Film/Possession}}''.
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14	----
15	!!This film provides examples of:
16	* AgonyOfTheFeet: Stephanie at one point confronts Emily/Abyzou in the kitchen, barefoot as well, only with a lot of breakable glass nearby. Ouch.
17	%%* ArtifactOfDoom: The Dybbuk box.
18	%%* BigBad: Abyzou, the Dybbuk.
19	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Em is okay, and Clyde and Stephanie remain friends. However, the Dybbuk somehow manages to get Tzadok killed in a car accident and is most likely going to be passed on to another unsuspecting victim.]]
20	* BlackDudeDiesFirst: [[spoiler: Rather, a lady, being Em's teacher.]]
21	* BodyHorror:
22	** [[spoiler: Brett's teeth fall out during an encounter with Em.]] More ironic when you consider he's a dentist.
23	** Those possessed by Abyzou suffer this. In the early stages of her possession, Em glimpses the Dybbuk's fingers at the back of her throat. Later, her [[EyeScream eyes rotate all the way around until they're completely white]], and the Dybbuk's hand can be seen through her cheek. Moths also exit and enter her mouth at various points. [[spoiler: Later, when Abyzou jumps from Em to Clyde, his eyes also rotate. Abyzou later exits his body by crawling out of his throat and mouth.]]
24	** And, lastly, the true form of Abyzou itself - [[spoiler: a small, deathly pale, humanoid creature with an unsettlingly huge mouth.]]
25	* BugsHeraldEvil: The purpose of the film's use of MacabreMothMotif: when they arrive, something bad is about to happen, and they have a lot to do with the titular possession.
26	* ButterflyOfTransformation: Rather, "Moths Of Possession."
27	%%* CreepyChild: Em, when possessed.
28	* DemonicPossession: Unlike normal demonic possession flicks, the Dybbuk needs multiple "trips" between the box and its future host to lay the groundwork for a full entry. Afterwards, it takes another week or so to fully take over.
29	* DramaticWind: Whenever the Dybbuk is about to lay the smackdown.
30	%%* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler: Tzadok.]]
31	* FirstFatherWins: Clyde's ex Stephanie is dating, and becoming progressively closer to Brett much to his chagrin. It's clear throughout the movie that both still have ''some'' chemistry and {{UST}} underneath a lot bickering. By the end of the film [[spoiler:Brett has run off after losing all his teeth to the Dybbuk, and Clyde and his family are closer together after beating the monster.]]
32	* HollywoodExorcism: Averted. It's a ''Jewish'' exorcism!
33	* HumanoidAbomination: [[spoiler: Abyzou's true form is this. Shown quite fully when they are being expelled from Clyde's body and as they are crawling back to the box.]]
34	* IKnowYourTrueName: There's two ways to get a Dybbuk to leave a body. One is an exorcism, and the other (much safer) way is to command it into its box by using its True Name.
35	%%* LargeHam: Tzadok, particularly during the exorcism. Em may also count during her "possessed" moments.
36	* MacabreMothMotif: The film poster is actually a light indication. All through the movie moths are portents of ''very'' bad news.
37	* TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf: Mirrors at first show when a Dybbuk is affecting a person. Later on it shows up again in an MRI machine.
38	* PrecisionFStrike: During the climactic exorcism, Em/Abizu drops one.
39	--> ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis FUCK! YOUUUUUU]]!''
40	* SadlyMythtaken: Zig-zagged. In Jewish folklore, a Dybbuk is a ghost, not a demon. On the one hand, Dybbuk is correctly described as a soul of a deceased person looking for a chance to live by taking another host. On the other end, it is given demonic properties and even named [[spoiler:Abyzou]], which is the name of an actual unrelated female demon from ancient Near-Eastern Europe folklore. She is assimilated to Myth/{{Lilith}} in Jewish folklore, and is said to cause miscarriages and infant mortality.
41	%%* [[SealedEvilInACan Sealed Evil In A Box]]
42	* SplitPersonalityTakeover: Though the Dybbuk isn't a split personality, it's takeover of Emily is a lot like one.
43	--> ''Emily isn't here any more.''
44	%%* StringyHairedGhostGirl: Em, after the Dybbuk enters her.
45	* SupernaturalProofFather: Averted twice. It's Clyde who first notices something supernatural was wrong with Em (though in an interesting turn it was the school that picks up on the change in behavior first), and Stephanie who is the skeptic. Later, when [[spoiler:the Dybbuk actually takes him up on his offer and changes from Em to possessing him.]]
46	* ThreePointLanding: A possessed Em does a bizarrely cool pose during the final showdown.
47	%%* TwoBeingsOneBody: And BodyHorror, the MRI scene in particular.
48	* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: The story was inspired by on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dybbuk_box an actual box]] currently belonging to Zak Bagans of ''Series/GhostAdventures'', the original owner claimed there was a dybbuk in it but her descendants were unsure when they sold it.
49	%%* VoiceOfTheLegion: Em/Abyzou, during the kitchen confrontation.
50	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: All that shit that went down and no [[spoiler: "Where's Brett?"]] That's cold, Stephanie.

Context Film / ThePossession