The Possessed (DVD)

The singer of a rock band, Cassidy, is deeply depressed and when she thinks that her boyfriend, Neal, is cheating on her, she decides that she cannot take any more and blows her brains out (literally) right in front of Neal. Devastated both by her death and the vision of her dying, Neal approaches a psychic, along with the other members of their rocck band. While they are there, the psuchic becomes possessed by Cassidy's spirit, and warns the friends ...
...the body of one of the friends and goes all out to ensure they all die painfully. Will any of them survive? And will Cassidy finally be able to rest in peace?

This is a low-budget horror, and acting is probably the area that the producer spent the least on. Cassidy is played by Kacia Brady, who manages to make depression look like she is a stroppy teenager rather than a life-threatening illness by pulling a few miserable faces. A little ... more

The singer of a rock band, Cassidy, is deeply depressed and when she thinks that her boyfriend, Neal, is cheating on her, she decides that she cannot take any more and blows her brains out (literally) right in front of Neal. Devastated both by her death and the vision of her dying, Neal approaches a psychic, along with the other members of their rocck band. While they are there, the psuchic becomes possessed by Cassidy's spirit, and warns the friends that they are going to die. Cassidy then takes over the body of one of the friends and goes all out to ensure they all die painfully. Will any of them survive? And will Cassidy finally be able to rest in peace?

This is a low-budget horror, and acting is probably the area that the producer spent the least on. Cassidy is played by Kacia Brady, who manages to make depression look like she is a stroppy teenager rather than a life-threatening illness by pulling a few miserable faces. A little more character development would definitely have been welcomed here. I am fascinated by clinical depression and suicidal tendencies, having been there myself, and it would have improved the film ten-fold for me. Jason Dibler plays Neal, and does a reasonable job - I've certainly seen worse - and he looks good, which always helps.

The other actors varied between being average and almost dire. The psychic is a strange character. Played by Lenny Rose, the director saw fit to paint up his face like Batman's Joker, and in fact, I think the whole role may have been based on The Joker (although not Heath Ledger's version because this film was made back in 2005), but of course he comes across as second-rate. I still rather liked him though, but I think you have to have a penchant for rubbish horror to even begin to see where I'm coming from. The boys will be glad to know that Amanda Carraway, who plays one of the band members, gets her boobs out - she is far from being a talented actress, but I'm sure that won't be noticed too much.

The film is set almost exclusively in the studios where the rock band record. One-set films need careful direction to ensure that they don't get boring, and I think that the director, Corbin Timbrook, did really try to make sure that this didn't happen. My interest was certainly maintained for the duration of the film, although at times, it was because I couldn't quite believe how rubbish it was. There are a lot of shots in red and green - red, presumably to stand for blood (and there is plenty of that), and green to signify the evil spirit - the spirit's eyes glow flourescent green when annoyed. It's a bit basic, but it does prove to be strangely eye-catching.

The script and the way it is delivered is what ultimately lets the film down. I can't completely blame the actors here, because I'm sure that, with better direction, they could have performed a lot better. However, some of the lines are so corny that it is painful to listen to. An example, and I quote from imdb.com, is 'If this is the afterlife, then death must be retail paradise'. Yuk. Writer Adam Hackbarth should be ashamed of himself - and surely that is not his real name?! The fact that the sound quality isn't particularly high doesn't help with the delivery of lines - it often sounds disjointed as if it doesn't belong to the film. The soundtrack is heavy rock, which is quite fitting, but again isn't of the highest quality.

This is a horror, albeit with a fairly low rating of 15, and there is plenty of blood splashing around, usually from severed arteries. The special effects are on a par with most budget horrors; they are just about convincing enough, but no more. What did annoy me was the stabbing scenes. We would see the spirit blindly stabbing at something without seeing its victim (probably a bean bag or a pillow!), then the next shot would be of the victim, smothered in blood and gushing everywhere. These scenes could have been much better executed; I found them unconvincing and they really ruined the flow of the film for me.

I'm sure that it will not be for the majority of people - I think you have to enjoy budget horror for a start (the type that's so bad it's almost funny), and even then, it is a pretty poor effort. Yet, despite its many many flaws, I actually quite enjoyed this film. It certainly kept me occupied for the duration, and it is only 77 minutes in length, so there isn't much chance to get bored. It is currently available in Woolworths for a pound, which is all it is worth - don't be tempted to pay more than that for it though - so might be worth checking out if you are prepared for its low-budgetness. Just about recommended.

The film is being marketed under the name of The Possessed in the UK. Elsewhere though, it is known as Studio 666 (mwahhahhah).

Classification: 15

Running time: 77 minutes. 

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