Possessed (2014) User Reviews

Horror, satire and flamenco, a claymation gem from Spain!

[renedelagza0 · 7/10 · 26 August 2015]

This was a very fun film. It is one part Spain culture satire, one part horror film tribute, but over all, is an enjoyable dark comedy.

Trini is the greatest flamenco dancer the world has known and is married to Gregorio, the best and most liked bull fighter in Spain. After Gregorio's death, Trini becomes depressed and their son, Damien, starts acting evilly, and showing symptoms of being possessed.

We also follow the story of Father Lenin, an intrepid catholic priest working for a corrupt bishop. Father Lenin will soon have to put his faith to test and seek his own redemption.

The film is satirical in nature and i could understand that some jokes are too local or can lose some meaning in the translation to other languages, but i don't think it makes it less enjoyable. It also looks very well, although animation is a little rough in some scenes, specially in the ones that make use of CGI. Some scenes can be offensive to sensitive persons because it has a little of racial stereotypes, religion criticism, graphic death scenes and "nudity", but is all part of the dark comedy experience.

I liked the story, the references to other films and pop culture, the art direction, and it made me laugh out loud through out the whole film. A great animated film from Spain.

Adult animation

[olcayozfirat · 7/10 · 30 March 2023]

An animated horror film of Spanish origin made in 2014. There are almost +21 scenes as well as the peak of brutality. But it's funny nonetheless. It's actually an animated version of the movie (see: The Exorcist). The only difference is that the mother is a dancer and the child is a male. The woman is married to Spain's most famous dancer and also the famous matador. They are having a child. This boy is possessed by the devil. There is only one priest who can perform a ritual for this.

Even if the movie is animated, it is not made for children. Lots of boobs out there, lots of sexual stuff. The brutality scenes are truly brutal. The blood is getting grooved. There is no conscience about killing. But it's also absurd and funny.

Tribute

[kosmasp · 4/10 · 27 March 2015]

I'm obviously swimming against the trend here and this movie did bring down the house (cinema) in Sitges were it was shown in 2014. I'll assume that the references in the movie were meant as tributes, which is the positive way to look at it ripping off every major horror movie of at least the last 40 years.

Assuming that, it's not enough to make a good movie. The humor (and violence) feel pretty juvenile and not in a good way. On the other hand, humor is in the eye of the beholder. Even more so than other things in film that are tough to judge for others. If you don't mind the violence and are on the same wavelength (to put it mildly), you might be entertained watching this. But it can also be very easily a disaster for you, which would lead you to rate this even lower than me ... (and it's animated, Claymation I think is the term, which I generally like)

A Claymation Horror Hoot!

[alisonc-1 · 8/10 · 19 July 2015]

The most famous flamenco dancer in the world marries the most famous bullfighter in the world, and together they have a son, Damian. But it's not long before tragedy strikes - the bullfighter dies and Damian, well, Damian is acting in a very peculiar way. Meantime, the local bishop has pushed his most daring priest too far and the priest has quit his calling (or has he been defrocked?). The priest, son of embittered Communists, finds himself in a major spiritual crisis, but he may be the only man who can save little Damian from his demons....

"Possessed" is an absolute hoot of a movie - done entirely in Claymation (think Wallace and Gromit) and playing with classic film lines in both visual and auditory forms (at one point a character quotes from "The Day the Earth Stood Still," and there are numerous references to all the "Exorcist" type films out there, not to mention a special appearance by Chthulu himself! Completely over- the-top, with lots and lots of blood and gore and savagery that would be simply appalling if was wasn't, you know, involving characters made out of clay - and really, really funny. Highly recommended!

A fun claymation horror parody

[Rectangular_businessman · 8/10 · 3 December 2015]

This was an entertaining horror parody...A great love letter to classic horror films from the 70s and 80s, and it certainly works as a far more effective parody of "The Exorcist" than "Repossessed".

In many ways, this feels like an animated version of the film directed by Alex de la Iglesia (particularly "The Day of the Beast") It's a fun homage which shows that horror parodies still can be done right, with a proper balance of the same elements that are often lazily used in films like the "Scary Movie" series.

I liked a lot the visual style of the film: Opposed to the polished detail of stop motion movies from the recent years such as "Coraline" or "ParaNorman" (Which I also liked) the animation of "Possessed" is far more simple, but that is part of its charm, reminding me to the colorful and cute looking (yet macabre) shorts directed by Takena Nagao.

The overall result is more than just worth-watching. Definitely one of the best animated films that I've seen during the last year.

8/10

Funny & visually great film

[Dar_Sargent · 8/10 · 23 June 2022]

This is an extremely entertaining claymation film with a heavy focus on snappily-paced comedy. It parodies a number of horror classics, primarily The Exorcist: you have your priest suffering from a crisis of faith, and a demon child picking off hapless adults in hilariously over-the-top and gory ways. It's an "anything for a joke" film, and the comedy really shines.

Most of this film focuses on one comedic setpiece after another: a satirical montage of celebrity-obsessed media; slapstick death scenes full of cartoon gore; a terrific otherworldly seance; the list goes on, while the movie does a good job building the tension and showing the demon child's family growing more and more desperate. There isn't a lot to explain here because it's easy to understand what works, and the creators did a great job on these aspects!

On a technical level, there's a lot to appreciate. The use of color, creative camera angles, and strong shot composition are excellent throughout the film! They give the whole thing a surreal atmosphere that can be playful or intense when the film needs. The creators are clearly excellent craftsmen who brought their A-game visually. It's honestly an excellent example of the bold art direction you can only achieve in stop-motion, and I think there's a lot of inspiration here for aspiring animators to learn from.

Unfortunately, the story fizzles out at the end. Way too late in the movie, we're introduced to a generic demon so the film can do a CG finale sequence. The shift from fantastic claymation to janky CG is a huge step down, and the sequence drags on without being very funny or dramatic. I wish they had 1-upped the entire joke of the movie by revealing that there was no demon, and this kid really was just a rotten brat with psychic powers. In a goofy "anything for a joke" movie, a sardonic twist would've been way more appropriate than a clumsy CG showdown.

The awkward ending makes the other flaws stand out. (The priest's complex personal crises, as well as the boy's mother mourning her husband, both get a ton of buildup but are resolved like the flip of a switch. The film spends a lot of time making us hate a corrupt bishop character, then it just gets rid of him in a hasty anticlimax.) It's unfortunate that the film ends on a letdown, because for most of its run, this movie is an extremely well-crafted laugh riot, filled with excellent visuals, top-notch claymation, and extremely creative slapstick gags.

Still, overall this movie is an extremely fun ride. Its one real goal is to entertain you, and it does an admirable job! The finale is a sore spot, but even with that flaw, the film is still a solid 8/10. I highly recommended it to anyone looking for a madcap horror parody or fans of stop-motion animation!

Awesome!!

[cendros-17895 · 9/10 · 11 October 2020]

We didn't knew the director, neither his movies. By chance, being in the Sitges Film Festival we ran into Sam while he was about to introduce his last shortfilm. Pos eso is undoubtedly one of the best films of this kind that I have ever seen: amazingly well made, intelligent, sarcastic and an endless of good adjectives. Just recommend you to watch it and decide for yourself. It's important to say that some of the characters in the film are representing people know from the spanish tv shows. Congrats Sam, it's been amazing!