Two newcomers, The Possession and Lawless topped the overall box office over Labor Day weekend, ending a summer that ended with not much of a bang. Overall, the Summer theatrical season fell nearly 3% from last year, winding up at $4.275 billion (vs $4.4 billion). The Expendables 2, which had topped the box office for two weekends, made a landing in the third spot with only slightly less screens. Today's grosses reflect a Friday through Monday Labor Day weekend numbers. The per cent change in revenue vs. the previous weekend only considers Friday - Sunday numbers.
more »
How do you get in touch with Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who lives with his family far outside the confines of Hollywood "in the woods," to ask him to be in your film? If you're like The Possession director Ole Bornedal, you go old school. "The script was sent to me with a really nice letter that Ole had written asking me to be a part of it," Morgan told Movieline. "It sat on my desk for a couple of days, but I kept reading this letter." Eventually Morgan read the script and, enticed by the familial relationships at the center of the demonic possession tale, got over his reluctance to take on the "overdone" horror genre to play a father desperately trying to reconnect with his daughter — and, in the process, save her from an evil spirit.
more »
Are exorcisms culturally specific? The concept behind The Possession, a solid, Jewish-inflected B-movie riff on The Exorcist from director Ole Bornedal, can't help but leave you wondering. Sure, a Catholic priest can attempt to take care of a demon, but when your child's inhabited by a dybbuk — a malevolent spirit from Jewish folklore — you might need someone who can specialize. more »
Signs that your precious little girl may be inhabited by a malicious demon, according to this first trailer for the Sam Raimi-produced The Possession: She eats her pancakes at abnormal speeds (watch out for that fork), cradles an ancient wooden puzzle box in her bed at night, has a horde of insects living inside her mouth. What are desperate parents Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick to do? Get a peek at the latest in dybbuk horror — so hot right now! — after the jump.
more »
It’s really easy to be cynical about horror movie posters. Most of them are garish, Photoshop nightmares unworthy of a second look. But we really owe it to ourselves to bask in the sublime surrealism of the one-sheet for The Possession. A poster like this one, for a low-budget horror film with a decent pedigree (Sam Raimi is among the producers) that will play as late-summer counterprogramming in multiplexes around the country, comes around, oh, never.
more »
