Possession movies have been around for a very long time and they are not going away anytime soon. It is safe to say that the same can be said about found footage films. Naturally, this makes for a great pairing, as seen plenty of times before in films like The Last Exorcism, The Taking of Deborah Logan, The Atticus Institute, etc. Seth Grossman decided to take this idea and run with it, as well, with his newest demonic flick, Inner Demons.
Carson (Lara Vosburgh) is hooked on heroin and has agreed to be part of a documentary about addiction. She isn’t aware, however, that the true nature of the documentary is to film an intervention that her family and friends have planned for her. Professionals at the institute, along with those closest to Carson soon find out that there is something much more sinister at work here, when Carson claims that she is possessed by a demon; the only way she knows how to stifle that demon is by using drugs.
Everyone already knows that I’m a fan of found footage horror flicks, but even I get sick of them from time to time. Still, I am always up for giving a new one a chance, when the time arises. I have a huge IFC and IFC Midnight film collection, so the fact that the studio has backed Inner Demons was also a pretty clear indicator that this one would be worth my time. While it does have its strong points, I can’t help but feel a little let down by the end result.
The idea of masking a possession with drug addiction is not exactly a new idea (see Lovely Molly), but basing a film on an intervention is still pretty creative, in my opinion. We’ve seen possession brushed off before, by being explained as a mental illness, but the idea of drug related symptoms and side-effects is still fairly unexplored. I like the idea of a film taking place at an addiction center with other addicts who are suffering in their own right, making for some pretty interesting group support sessions and helping to further explain the different mounted cameras we are witnessing everything unfold from.
While I enjoy the setting and think the story is pretty good overall, my biggest gripe is with the acting. At times, the acting seemed very good from the likes of Lara Vosburgh and co-star Morgan McClellan, playing cameraman Jason, but there were also plenty of times where I was just not impressed at all. Some of the supporting cast was downright awful, taking me out of the film quite a bit. The film was saved a little during the third act, due to some more impressive special effects and an ending that I did not see coming, but I still was hoping for more.
In the end, Inner Demons is worth watching, if you are a found footage nut like myself. It isn’t the best one out there, but it is certainly not the worst either. Be sure to pick up a copy of Inner Demons on DVD now from IFC Films.
I give Inner Demons 3 syringes out of 5.
