Grace - The Possession

It seems normal these days for a horror film to rip off classic film elements without stealing from them outright. "Grace: The Possession" does just that, borrowing characters and situations from both "Carrie" and "The Exorcist."

"Grace: The Possession's" selling point becomes its major downfall: a point-of-view camera technique is used for the main character of Grace throughout the entire running time of this new twist on a tried-and-true possession story. Said character (after a 5-minute prologue showing her birth) goes off to college...naive, virginal, and inexperienced are adjectives to describe poor Grace. As she tries to fit in with boys and her fellow co-ed students, bizarre events start to occur: she has visions of killing people and slowly discovers she may be possessed by demonic spirits.

The ever-reliable Lin Shaye plays Grace's religious zealot grandmother (with shades of a more serious and strict Margaret White from "Carrie"). Shaye gets overshadowed by a shallow script but hams it up as only she can.

Purporting to be from a producer of "Sinister" and the executive producer of "Insidious" (far superior films) may try to help drive DVD sales, but "Grace: The Possession" is mediocre at best. It does have some intriguing elements...somehow not much is known about this direct-to-DVD movie.

At a costly retail price of $27 and without a single special feature (besides film previews), "Grace: The Possession" warrants a rental only.

"Grace: The Possession"
DVD
www.sonypictures.com