As it turns out, that box contains a dybbuk – a Jewish demon – that should not be let out. Unfortunately, Em successfully opens the box and unleashes an evil presence. (Don’t you hate when that happens?) Em changes a bit, turning violent, hanging out with moths, talking in a creepy voice, and pretty soon it’s obvious even to the most skeptical of parent that their child is under the influence of some sort of unnatural force. Fortunately,Clyde has some help on his syde in the form of Tzadok (Matisyahu), who won’t let a good man suffer when he can do something to help. From a plot point, there’s nothing new about The Possession. It’s a ‘girl gets possessed by a demon’ story, the likes of which hits the movies pretty much once a year, if not more often. The only wrinkle this one has over, say, The Devil Inside is the topic of religion. Turns out, it’s not just Catholics who believe in demonic possession; Jewish people believe in it, too! That angle alone makes for an interesting variant on an old trope, given the colorful rituals and outfits of the ultra-orthodox Jewish set and the inevitable comparisons to the Catholic version of the same ritual. It’s different, that’s for sure. There’s less rhythmic praying and more singing and head-bobbing. I guess the chanting part is why they cast Matisyahu as the young Rabbi willing to perform a good deed and come to the aid of Em and her family. Being the world’s most famous ultra-orthodox Jew, he’s a great choice for the role of a young, brave rabbi willing to take on a demon when the older, smarter rabbis refuse to help. He’s got a natural charisma, albeit limited when compared to Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick. Those two, as the leads, are excellent; even the kids are decent to good, and that’s rare. One thing I can say for The Possession: there was not an over reliance on jump scares. Instead, director Ole Bornedal works hard to make the movie itself suspenseful and build scares organically. He is obviously influenced by Ghost House mastermind Sam Raimi, and there are some very Raimi camera movements and shot compositions at work in the movie, to its benefit. Say what you want to about Sam Raimi, but he knows how to position the camera effectively, and he knows how to make things creepy. That said, it’s yet another exorcism flick. Was it really necessary? Even with the Jewish angle, and even with some good actors and clever set pieces, it’s still another possessed girl movie, and we’ve seen that sort of thing a lot before. The Possession is well executed, but fairly standard. It won’t surprise fans of the genre with anything unexpected, but perhaps that’s the point. It’s a PG-13 Jewish exorcist with no real major flaws. Follow Den Of Geek on Twitter right here. And be our Facebook chum here.