Possessed (2000)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Possessed is a cheesy. but great made-for-cable movie from Showtime. That's based on the true story of the demonic possession and exorcism of "Robbie Mannheim" (aka "Roland Doe"...both being pseudonyms to protect his identity)- which also just so happens to be the case on which the original The Exorcist novel and film were based.This film, itself, is based off the 1993 book-of-the-same-name by Thomas B Allen; which heavily relies upon the accounts of Raymond J. Bishop and Walter H. Halloran- two of the priests who took part in the successful exorcism, during which a demonic entity by the name of Dominus was driven from the boy...who would then go on to lead a normal life.In the film, we follow Robbie-a youngster who enjoys comic books and toy soldiers- whose parents are strict and sometimes overbearing. His grandmother, though, is a sort of mystic, who fosters his creativity...and teaches him about contacting spirits via the ouija board.Shortly after her passing, unexplainable things start to happen around their family home: bizarre sounds without sources are heard, while inanimate objects are seen moving around on their own. Around the same time, Robbie starts to burst into violent, angry rages; speak in ancient languages; and exhibits extraordinary strength...as if he has become someone else entirely.Terrified, his parents take him to see a Catholic Priest at Georgetown University Hospital. Here an exorcism is attempted by Priest named of Edward Hughes. Though, somehow during the process, the boy manages to pry a spring from the bed and use it to slice open the arm of the priest...cutting the ritual short.Enter our two protagonists: Raymond J Bishop & William S Bowdern, who are both Professors and Priests at St Louis University. They are assisted by a younger Priest named Halloran, and together, the three men would subject Robbie to a number of ritual exorcism attempts. During these rituals, upwards of 48 people- including 9 Jesuit Priests- had witnessed the supernatural occurrences that had been exhibited through the boy.Such events included the uttering of guttural voices; knowledge of Greek and Latin; the sudden, yet temporary, formation of words like hell and evil etched into the boy's skin; extraordinary feats of strength; knowledge of things he couldn't possibly have known; pissing; vomiting; profanity; and poltergeist activity.Finally, after discovering the hidden name, date, and time of changing, left in clues uttered by the spiritual force possessing the young boy, Dominus. The three priests were able to drive the dark entity from the boy's soul. However, the Catholic Church oriented a full cover-up, after the fact.Whereas some of the acting in this film is a bit cheesy, you've got to respect what they did with a clearly low budget. It has an appealing cult-style and contains some cool special effects. Overall, it is similar, in content, to films like The Entity; with a style reminiscent of The Changeling- which is probably the most realistic ghost film ever made. This is a film that is based on a story so wild, that it will change the way you look at the world. And this version keeps more true to the tale than does The Exorcist...so it's worth watching for that reason alone. Recommended.6 out of 10.

I really enjoyed most of the movie, This movie dose not take long to getting going and there are some good scenes in this movie but I would not say they are scary scene but really good for a TV movie.the first 45 minutes of the movie were very entertaining and the one scene that surprised me as one really bloody scene, which I did not expect to see any bloody moment in this movie at all.After the 45 mins mark. it kinda calm down. now and again for the next hour, there were some dull moment but they don't last for long but this movie could have been a little bit shorter, as it was little to long.I really did enjoy how the movie came to a end, i thought it was really clever!, connecting the movie to flashback early in the movie. The acting for this movie was really good from everyone in the movie. I going to give this movie 7 out of 10

I buck the tide of negative opinions of this film. It is not as salacious as "The Exorcist", which was written based on this true incident from 1949 mid-west America, and because we've become so used to vivid violence in movies, perhaps this movie suffers for not making up the details or punching them up to be more shocking to viewers. At any rate, I found it to contain an excellent performance by Timothy Dalton in particular and by the entire cast in general. Casting a red-headed, freckled boy caused at least one reviewer to mock the choice for the possessed child, but I remind everyone that Linda Blair was a cute, sugary-sweet child in "The Exorcist" as well, so I don't agree that this boy was a bad choice. Something really happened to a young adolescent boy in 1949 that was seen by and chronicled by many; it's amazing to me that his true identity hasn't slipped out after 60 years, but how do we know that he was NOT a red-haired, freckled child? I found the movie to be interesting and believable. No, it is not the most graphic horror film I've ever seen but it doesn't have to be. All it needs to do is to tell it like it really was, not how some writer imagines it, and I think that it succeeded very well in that way.

**** MILD SPOILERS ****This is based on a true story is it ? If that`s the case then why does the opening caption read " Somewhere in France , All saints day , 1944 " Couldn`t the caption have given the exact location ? , or would that lead people to research the integrity of this true story ? Since reading about the truth in " true stories " like PAPILLON and SLEEPERS alarm bells always ring in my head when the words " true " and " story " appear side by side , and if the story is in fact true ask yourself this question : If the events on screen actually happened then why isn`t the case better known . I mean if chairs were running around putting the boot into teachers wouldn`t that be front page news .My second criticism is that I thought this was going to be a bit more light hearted . Of course as soon as the waffen SS turned up and got some bayonet practice in I realised this wasn`t going to be the case , but by then the damage had been done and I knew not to expect any intentional laughs POSSESSED isn`t of much interest except for one aspect - How things used to be . For example smoking wasn`t the social crime it is now , only white people were allowed to be catholics , commies existed and wanted to drop atomic bombs on the USA , young teenage boys could be looked after by priests without any suspicion and teenagers swearing was a certain sign that there were demonic forces at work . Ah the good old days NB : That last line was sarcasm before anyone complains