This review was contributed by Paul Grammatico
Possession has always been the atypical battle of good versus evil. In the movie universe there has been endless flow of films that have varied from the terrifying (The Exorcist) to slapstick (The Evil Dead) to the humorous (Ghostbusters) and the various remakes and rip-offs in between. While these films vary in quality, they all sing the same refrain: There is an entity out there and it’s not nice.
The Last Possession, a cinematic splashdown produced by Filmspire Productions and distributed by Terror Films gives us a different take that not all human occupation has to be simply spiritual nor demonic.
Kent and Stephanie Peroni (Stephen Brodie, Cassie Shea Watson) along with their two children Jack and Abby (Sawyer Bell, Lourelle Jensen) moves into a house inherited by Kent due to his father’s suicide. As they settle in, Abby talks to no one specific. When questioned by Stephanie, she replies that she is talking to Grandpa Roger (Tom Proctor). Dismissed as a symptom of grief and trauma, a presence within the house manifests itself and terrorizes the whole family. Kent, desperate to keep his family safe and completely out of answers, consults his co-worker Hector (Daniel Escudero) who introduces Kent to his grandmother and local medium Inez (Patricia Rae). As Inez enters the Peroni household, she discovers that there is not just one presence, but two.
Written by Greg Shouse and directed Dan Riddle, The Last Possession scribes and drives in a way that attempts to do something different than the standard possession film. While I admire this bold venture of utilizing an extraterrestrial coupled with a spiritual being that haunts the house, why the alien is contained with the confines of the house is a puzzle. It’s understandable that the alien possibly inhabited Roger’s body in the opening scene, but the film does not clarify why the alien is trapped within the house and not being able to roam the earth to find a host. If that was made clearer within Inez’s visions, it would have made this film a more cohesive story.
Performances within this film are wooden, but there is some good, animated acting from Lourelle Jenson who is a natural as the adorable daughter who has a natural naivete and terror that stands out. Patricia Rae is fantastic as the affable, quick-witted medium who faces down the entities within the house.
The Last Possession is a worthwhile watch if you’re looking for a different flavor among some of the vanilla, paint-by-numbers demon films that typically create destruction within a common domicile and always inhabit a random body. It takes a chance and, while some of the film doesn’t work, the concept is a courageous one.
The Last Possession is out now on digital.
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