“The Possession” is this weekend’s new horror tale, and its look at demons and other supernatural phenomena may make believers out of anyone — even star Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
Drawing from Jewish mythology, “The Possession” tells the tale of a recently divorced dad (Morgan), whose daughters (Natasha Calis and Madison Davenport) move into his creepy old house. At a yard sale, the daughters pick up a spooky-looking box with Hebrew inscription which contains a demon known as a Dybbuk (also referenced in the Coen Brothers’ “A Serious Man”).
HitFix’s Chris Eggertsen sat down with Morgan (“Watchmen”) and Calis (TV’s “The Firm”) to discuss the film.
The precocious Calis explains how her real-life rapport with Morgan is reflected in the film. “We really bonded well. We became like a real father and daughter,” explains Calis, while Morgan deadpans, “Also, I had the maturity of an 11-year-old boy.” He also refers to her, only somewhat jokingly, as a young Meryl Streep.
Shooting the film (based on a true story) may have even made the previously skeptical Morgan a believer in the supernatural, who claims “weird” things happened on set.
“When weird things happen that never happened in my 25 years as an actor and they’re happening consistently on one movie and the movie happens to be about a possessed box? Maybe I’m not as skeptical as I was going in…We certainly don’t want that real box anywhere near our world.”
Sam Raimi (“The Evil Dead”) produced and Ole Bornedal (“Nightwatch”) directed the film which also stars Kyra Sedgwick and Hasidic rapper-singer Matisyahu.
“The Possession” opens nationwide today.