The Possession of Michael King (2014)

The Possession of Michael King (2014) Movie Review
Written By: FR
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff

Film Information

Director: David Jung
Writers: David Jung
Producers: Guy Danella, Scott Niemeyer, Tedi Sarafian, et. al.
Date Released: August 22, 2014

Cast:
Shane Johnson as Michael King
Ella Anderson as Ellie King
Cara Pifko as Samantha King
Julie McNiven as Beth King
Tomas Arana as Augustine
Patricia Healy as Marsha

Rating = 2 /5 Graves

***May contain some spoilers***

Synopsis

The film is about the possession of a man who decided to search for the supernatural after the death of his wife. His journey to the search lead him to different adventures – allowing demonologists, necromancers, and various practitioners of the occult to try the deepest and darkest spells and rituals they can find on him – in the hopes that when they fail, he’ll once and for all have proof that religion, spiritualism, and the paranormal are nothing more than myth. One day, something really happened and took over Michael King.

Gore Factor

As in most possession movies, it is expected to have a lot of blood. One particular gore is the chest-sewing scene which was pretty gross, and the part where a pin gets pushed into a fingertip was downright disturbing. There are some scenes that were indirectly brutal but not seen on screen. As always it is not easy to watch the body contorting and scarred during the possession.

The Grave Review

The performances are really commendable especially the main character which is believable at the very least. The script is well written and not a lot of cliché’-ridden dialogues. The movie was created effectively delivering a real sense of discomfort and tension. However, the music and sounds sometimes interfere with the visual effects. It can get too loud and overpowering.

Shane Johnson as Michael King does an excellent job portraying a man whose life is turned upside down. Taking on Necromancers, and other occultists with a sense of righteous cynicism and allowing himself to be the guinea pig on one hand is commendable, but ultimately foolhardy considering that he eventually puts not only his sister Beth’s (Julie McNiven) life in jeopardy, but his own daughter’s as well. Using a variety of jump scares, sudden booming audio scares, plenty of blood and gore, and dead birds Jung raises the hairs on the back of your neck. For example, Michael carves, and then sews up a pentagram on his chest. Unfortunately, Fishbone, the dog, dies a horrible bloody death.

The visual effects though scarce are well made and add to the scariness of some scenes, and it’s overall a refreshing horror flick that makes good use of the “found footage” format that is so popular in horror movies these days.

Overall, the end was predictable. The plot is simple and uncomplicated. There is no unresolved conflict. That is why The Exorcist is still the unbeaten movie for possession.

Because of the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives The Possession of Michael King (2014) two graves out of five graves.

Do you agree with our review? Comment below.

You may also like our review of the film, The Last Exorcism.