Ava's Possessions (2015)

People are voting emotionally.

Good concept, poorly executed.

A Disappointing Continuation

The acting in this movie is really good.

Ava's possessions is a fairly original take on a tired sub genre. instead of being a straight forward exorcism film it answers the question of what it is like after the demon has been exorcised. through this plot device we are treated to a lot of dark humour which is also pretty refreshing for this particular sub genre. some may look at the demonic possession as a metaphor for addiction because of obvious similarities in the context of the films story. while I agree that this was probably the intent of the writers I think it was mainly for the reason of using it for comedic effect which actually worked quite well. the acting in the film is actually very good and the direction is as well. the problem here lies in the script. like many other horror films it seems like it is afraid of keeping it simple. the film feels the need to add sub plots that are really not essential for the success of the movie. the concept is already original enough and they could have easily told a decent story with some genuine atmosphere and loads of laughs. for instance the sub plot involving her friend wanting to get in touch with her own demon seems very out of place for the story they were originally trying to tell. it was as if they didn't know how to fill up the run time and came up with that idea to pad it out. while the score was also not anything truly memorable it was a good and fit the films tone very well. the lighting was also very good, a lot of glowing blues and greens that add a nice touch.overall I would say Ava's possessions really was just average. could have been much better if the writers chose to not bog the film down with unnecessary sub plots and utilized the full potential of the original and fresh take on the exorcism genre. many more scenes of humor and horror could have graced the screen if they kept the plot simple.the verdict: 5/10

I really liked this movie. I may be biased because I adore film noir, but I was impressed with this movie's plot. It was more of a mystery than a horror film, but it was certainly a thriller. They were really creative in showing possible life changes that occur after a possession. Also POSSIBLE SPOILER! there is an excellent twist that I was totally not expecting! But that's all i am going to tell you. I totally recommend Ava's Possessions because it had a twist AND a freaking cool cliffhanger. Just go watch it. Like open a new tab and stream this movie, watch it, then tell everyone you know. I don't care what the critics say. Just go watch and tell me what it made you feel.

Finally, a new angle for the old satanic possession standard. Ava's Possessions starts where other movies end: a stoic priest is able to expel the demon Naphula, and the main character Ava is free from its perverse influence. However, it's not that easy to return to normality, because Ava and her family will have to face the practical and psychological consequences of possession. Director and screenwriter Jordan Galland establishes a realistic situation, combining subtle humor with a provocative mystery which impulses the story and assigns a motivation to the leading character. However, that mystery isn't the main point of the film; the most important thing is discovering how Ava's terrifying experience altered her perception of the world and brought her new qualities which will be useful for her to investigate her activities during that "lost month": who she met, why such many people hate her and where a mysterious clock showing up at her apartment came from. What did Nephula exactly do while it was controlling Ava's body? At the same time, we follow the process of "therapy", who works as a support group at first sight: the surviving victims sharing stories, receiving counseling on their re- integration to societies and forming friendships with people who went through the same situation; oh, and they also invoke the demons who possessed them, in order to get trained to expel them without the need of ecclesiastical intervention. All those sub-plots are eventually fused on an ingenious way, until leading to a very satisfactory ending. As for the cast, Louisa Krause displays a perfect balance of internal strength and cynical apathy in her role; and I would also like to mention the solid performances from Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Carol Kane, Whitney Able and the great William Sadler. In conclusion, I liked Ava's Possessions very much, and it deserves an enthusiastic recommendation mainly because of its creative premise combining humor, drama and interesting characters, proving that there still are new things to explore into the satanic possession sub-genre. Who would have imagined that the most interesting aspects of a possession wouldn't be the screams and contortions, but the human problems coming after the exorcism?

Jordan Galland's "Ava's Possessions" stood out in the Fantasia International Film Festival schedule to me for being a movie about the aftermath of a possession. When I originally heard about a little movie called "Tonight, We Stay Indoors" by no-budget filmmaker Joseph Larsen, I was intrigued in similar ways. If you don't know, "Tonight, We Stay Indoors" is essentially about what happens after a slasher movie. Yet "Ava's Possessions" seemed to take a completely different route with its aftermath story. A more traditional one than Joseph Larsen's very slow art-house approach. "Ava's Possessions" mixes crime mysteries and comedy with its horror themes, making it something that doesn't require you to be completely on edge.Ava wakes up as her normal self, with a priest telling her that she has been possessed by a demon. This has been going on for a month, and her family have desperately tried to get through this month of torment. Finally Ava is back! Because crimes were committed during her possession, Ava has to take responsibility for them. She can either go to jail and serve the time, or she can go to meetings with the Spirit Possession Anonymous group. The group helps her on her journey to recovery - a long and hard journey as the demon might return. When things are starting to look up, Ava is told to get in contact with all the people she wronged during her possession, and she slowly finds evidence of something horrible having taken place."Ava's Possessions" feels like if you treat possession like going on a bender, and the movie takes place the day after when trying to remember where you were, what you did and who you slept with. Yes, it's very on the nose about this, especially considering that the demon that Ava was possessed by was a rich, snotty and careless demon. The movie is rather basic and you can quickly tell what the filmmaker was going for. This wasn't really issue to me until a slightly underwhelming end to the movie. For a movie with such a great premise, it felt like the movie became less and less original the longer it went on.Don't let the above statement scare you from watching the movie though, it is still a very fun movie. It's still relatively fresh and unique, with plenty of fun horror movie clichés having been skewed to fit the mold. "Ava's Possessions" is not a horror movie, but I'd absolutely regard it as a movie made for horror movie fans. It's a perfect movie to watch when you want a horror comedy but have realized that the majority of them are the same.I appreciated that "Ava's Possessions" never blossomed into full horror, and was always much more a mystery/crime comedy than anything else. The clichés were done in just the perfect way where they didn't feel like parody, yet somehow intentional. The possession scenes themselves were pretty much what you expect but they are treated well within the "lore" of the movie. Overall a pleasant watch that's worth keeping in mind when you want an easier movie.