David Pierdomenico
The possession subgenre of horror has been active ever since The Exorcist back in 1973. Audiences have seen films tell these stories in a variety of ways. And aside from 2005’s The Exorcism of Emily Rose, most horror films don’t really touch upon the aftermath of an exorcism; especially one in which the victim died. The Possession of Hannah Grace sets out to show that even after life is expired, the demonic can still have a grasp on someone. It starts out with a compelling premise, but unfortunately falls short in its delivery.
Intriguing First Act
The film opens with the titular Hannah Grace (Kirby Johnson) contorting her body about as two priests attempt to save her soul via exorcism. As far as these scenes go, it’s a bit over the top, but Johnson’s background in dance allows her to move her body in ways that seem unnatural and downright disturbing. From there we meet our protagonist Meg (Shay Mitchell) as she’s starting a new job overseeing a hospital morgue during the graveyard shift. She’s at a point of her life in which she’s trying to move on. Between a traumatic event that ended her police career to alcoholism, she’s been through a lot and needs some stability, hoping this job will give her just that.
All bets are off however, once the body of Hannah Grace is brought in and strange things begin happening. Early on, it was made clear that Meg sometimes has flashbacks and delusions, due to her PTSD. And as strange occurrences begin to happen, she questions her own sanity, knowing that it could very well be her mind fabricating things that aren’t really there. This is a technique that 2014’s Oculus used very effectively. However, this film sort of abandons this idea very quickly, and it’s a shame. The first 30 minutes are genuinely creepy, but the rest of the film doesn’t follow suit. Many have compared this film to 2016’s The Autopsy of Jane Doe. But where the films differ is in their use of subtlety.
Boring Second Act
Once the strange supernatural phenomena begin, the film oddly decides to slow its pace. Clearly they were going for slow burn suspenseful, but it comes off more like not very much happening. The film is only 1 hour 26 minutes, but when stuck in the middle, it often feels like it’s more than 2. There’s nothing wrong with a slow burn approach (it worked incredibly well for The Witch and Hereditary), but it needs to be done right. The film needs to feel like it’s slowly building tension and dread, rather than just filling time between traditional jump scares. And unfortunately, The Possession of Hannah Grace is very much the latter.
Over the Top Third Act
There’s not too much to say about the third act without giving anything substantial away. The most that can be said is that the film goes very far over the top very quickly. It started out very quiet and unnerving, but by the end it’s anything but. This loud and campy approach works in something like Evil Dead or Drag Me to Hell because those films have a level of camp built in. At no point do they ever take themselves seriously. But The Possession of Hannah Grace does take itself seriously in tone, and thus its final act feels more like something out of Resident Evil than a creepy horror/thriller.
Sense of Atmosphere
Despite the film’s flaws in terms of narrative and style, it does pretty decent job of creating a uniquely eerie environment. The morgue itself looks less like a modern hospital and more like some underground lab from the 1950’s, complete with concrete walls and everything. It’s actually quite reminiscent of the underground facility from Cabin in the Woods. Plus, the fact that most of the plot takes place over one night does add to the isolationism the film relishes in. It leaves the audience wondering who will or won’t last this one night.
There are far better possession/exorcism films out there, but there are also far worse. Shay Mitchell gives a strong performance, and it does have some suspenseful moments. And for any fans who don’t mind it going completely insane for the last 15 minutes, it will probably be very enjoyable.
