Ava's Possessions Review
While a flawed movie, Ava's Possessions contains some fascinating perspectives on demonic possession. What if demonic possession wasn't seen as a religious fiction we'd rather not flirt with, but a commonly accepted disease that affects certain people of the population? What if your work treated the "illness" like sick leave? What if there were support groups for getting over your possession? It's such an interesting concept that you're enthralled with the film's perspective post-possession that you're actually refreshingly relieved you don't have to mess with the exorcism.
The story of life post-demonic possession was more than enough to fill the runtime of the film. However, the mystery side of the plot needed a few revisions. The motivations of key contributors were vague and rusty at best, so you find yourself frustrated by the end of the film that the writer found it necessary to bother with a mystery at all. I felt the film could have gone into the direction of a Fight Club-like therapy for the post-possessed individuals. Not so much the actual fight clubbing part...but the therapy session hopping and an even more sardonic, apathetic take on the content.
The film certainly plays on these aspects a little bit. The best parts by far are the scenes involving Ava attempting to reestablish her life and repair relationships she may have broken, harshly, while under the influence of her demon. Her coping with the consequences of her "actions", as well as dealing with the seemingly pointless attempts to deliver therapy in the support group, are just so humorous and relative to aspects of real life that you truly delve into these segments of the film. Her newly found friend at the support group struggles with an "addiction" to her demon, really driving home a metaphor for drug abuse. It's all quite engaging.
But in between, we get this ill-conceived mystery story as she tries to solve the enigma of the blood in her apartment and a watch engraved with a name found in her couch. It's not necessarily that it wouldn't be therapeutic to discover the truth, but the convenience of her finds and the poorly woven clues just make it far less believable than the demons the film manifests.
If not already clear, this film is not your traditional demon possession movie. While to an extent it is a satire of the abundant sub genre, it's take is unique and enjoyable for the most part, while avoiding some of the hyper-violent and overly grotesque content popular in such films. Yet, it still manages to retain your attention.
Horror Qualifier: 7/10
Horror Quality: 4/10
Film Quality: 6/10