The Possession of Hannah Grace (2018)

Directed by: Diederik Van Rooijen | 86 minutes | horror, thriller | Actors: Stana Katic, Gray Damon, Shay Mitchell, Gijs Scholten van Aschat, Kirby Johnson, Nick Thune, Louis Herthum, Maximillian McNamara, Jacob Ming-Trent, James A. Watson Jr., Marianne Bayard, Adrian M. Mompoint

‘The Possession of Hannah Grace’ is the first Hollywood production by Diederik van Rooijen, best known to us for the successful crime series Penoza, but who also made the meritorious chase thriller ‘Taped’, with Barry Atsma and Susan Visser in the lead roles. And… it could have been worse. This may not really sound like a compliment, but ‘Hannah Grace’ certainly has its strengths. The film is not very surprising or equally effective in all areas, but it is not a bad finger exercise in the horror genre. Stylistically and in terms of setting the atmosphere, Van Rooijen makes interesting choices.

The story is the film’s weak link, though the concept has potential. The film begins what many films end with: the exorcism of the title character – and in a sense the main character – of the film: Hannah Grace. It’s a scene that will sound familiar: a girl in bed with fierce eyes and a monstrous, foul-mouthed voice; a bouncing bed, a worried parent by the bed, and a bunch of priests trying to exorcise the devil. Several films have tapped into this, but ‘The Exorcist’ is the most obvious source of inspiration, especially if you take the reissue from a few years back, with the unnatural ‘spider walk’ of the stairs.

As mentioned, this is not the (bitter sweet) end of the film, but just the beginning. It’s already very dramatic and tragic what’s happening here, but the devil seems gone (or trapped) with the failed exorcism and death of Hannah Grace. “Apparently” of course, because a few months later, Hannah’s corpse turns up in a morgue where she soon begins to show signs of life, either through direct movements or through her telekinetic powers, which she uses to drop scalpels and glasses on the floor. fall and let the doors of corpse drawers shoot open.

It’s a nice excuse for some shock effects on the one hand and various mysterious events on the other where the main character starts to doubt his sanity. Because, that’s just as convenient, the main character Megan Reed (Shay Mitchell) is admittedly a ‘tough’ ex-cop, but also a recovering addict (alcohol and pills), because of a trauma she suffered during a police action. Her buddy at the AA knew she was looking for work, and had the bright idea of ​​proposing a job at a morgue. Perfect for getting rid of your fears of course.

It gives rise to many useful creepy moments and possible delusions, which almost mentally push Megan into the abyss (and just barely reach for the pills). The ‘irony’, of course, is that the viewer knows that these are not delusions at all, but that a corpse actually comes to life.

The way in which this is done is, by the way, quite well illustrated. Or rather: acted by the corpse. Kirby Johnson was allowed to crawl into the decomposing, battered and twisted skin of dead Hannah here, which is handy because as a dancer she knows how to bend her body in all kinds of – for normal people – unnatural angles. Ideal for portraying such a supernatural enemy.

Although you see many tense moments, as well as plot twists, coming in advance, Van Rooijen still manages to achieve quite a lot. The morgue has been used many times as a creepy setting for a horror or thriller, but several new ideas are coming along, such as the fluorescent lighting with motion sensors, where a long, dark corridor is literally lit step by step. Scary enough without walking cadavers.

Even substantively, it becomes even more intriguing towards the end of the film, when the origin of Hannah’s (original) possession is discussed, and about the reason that her lifeless, devilish appearance seems to spare Megan for a long time. There seems to be some psychology behind this (b) and a possible connection between Megan and Hannah. This is only hinted at sideways and briefly, but it does provide a surprising extra layer in the final phase of the film.

All in all, ‘The Possession of Hannah Grace’ is not a high-flyer, but certainly not an embarrassment either. With this film, Diederik van Rooijen has shown that he possesses a certain visual flair and inventiveness, which could very well lead to a strong international (Hollywood) production that gets hands on everywhere. With some stronger basic material – read: scenario – a lot can still happen.