The Possession of David O'Reilly (2010)

Lack of good storyline.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The movie is actually not so bad as its rating would suggest. But I can understand why people would hate it. The problems are related to the lighting and the actions of the characters. The movie is so dark that sometimes it is difficult to see what is going on. It is shot in a single apartment and so you never see the light most of the time. In addition, there is a plot device which says that he can only see these beings in the dark. Which makes it even worse. The beings themselves are not so bad. The various dumb actions by the characters are another problem. I mean, seriously a crazy guy runs around with a knife, the least you would do is to calm him down and take the knife away from him. That is what logical human beings do. Instead predictably the characters here would not do that. The girlfriend says that he needs to leave but as usual he continues to stay. Because then the movie would have been over much earlier. Even after they suspect this guy's mental state, they still continue to have him in the house. I just find it all really bizarre. Another dumb thing is the stabbing of the guy. I know the filmmakers may have wanted a downer ending but the stabbing is too lame and unbelievable. Would he stab his friend in order to prevent the beings from killing him? Yeah that is real believable. In dumb movies like this, they always find some predictable reason for somebody to accidentally stab the wrong person or whatever. The ending is predictable but in movies like this, where else could it go? The premise is not highly original so the ending is par for the course. But other than these things, the atmosphere that is created is actually not so bad. It was an entertaining ride if you overlook the character's actions.5/10

A powerful film which explores the dangers inherent in adultery and untreated mental illness. The director is obviously gifted and creates a vivid atmosphere of tension and fear. The cast is outstanding and each member gives a superb performance. The script is intelligent while at the same time offering a horrific glimpse into an insane night. As the story progresses, it is impossible not to think that appropriate mental health interventions should have been taken at some point. Such an effort might well have prevented much of the suffering depicted. However, this film serves to impress upon the public that such treatment should be sought but it fails in not demonstrating the availability of the required help. The theme of adultery could successfully be dealt with quite effectively through couple's counseling and the establishment of more effective lines of communication between partners. Once again, the film doesn't offer any possible solutions but it does do well to point out the tragic consequences of not confronting the issues involved.

I give this movie a 4.5 because at the very least it kept me watching long enough to reassure my "guess" about who the monster(s) really was. I believe David killed his girlfriend Sarah and the demons chasing him were his own guilt manifesting itself.His best-friend fell into his hallucinations only as a best friend could.In the last ten minutes of the movie his best friend's girl begins to realize just how insane David's behavior is when she starts resisting to give into the mass hysteria slowly trying to take over the lot of them by refusing to turn out the light.It was a little annoying for obvious reasons(after reading David's journal neither his best friend or his girlfriend's reaction was believable.....at this point you really have to questions David's sanity just a little more as he is hanging around their house looking like strung out drug addict).Also the best friend and David are running around in most of the movie with knives in the dark so I expected someone to at least get a nick a little earlier on.In closing they show David's best-friend's girlfriend laying on the hallway floor(you can tell by the distinctive tile where she is),with a bloody gut wound. Quite obvious to me it was inflicted by David as she wrestled him to escape.In panic mode I don't believe she knew how mortally wounded she was and kept going until she made it to the hallway and then passed away.I enjoyed this movie because it took very little effort to figure out but still had some "jumpy" parts. I do feel the whole movie/story could have been done as a short and would have been much more effective.

Let me at least say that I liked the camera work right away (but could not stand the audio). I liked that there weren't any cheap gimmicks you almost always come across in the horror genre. But that's the only praise I can give this film. There was a lot of useless exposition and scenes that did little to nothing to further the plot. It lacked timing and it didn't use its effects to their full capacity. I didn't jump once during this movie, but I did get bored and wondered when the scary stuff was coming. The ending was predictable. The part where they're running around the building with nothing following them was just annoying. It had all the components that should scare its audience with unseeable things that are lurking in the dark yet failed miserably at utilizing them, because it showed what the monsters looked like too soon. It was frustrating because supposedly these things can prey on you even if you can't see them, but they never actually did anything (except at the very end). Also, didn't these people have jobs? Why didn't they just leave?