| The Possessed | |
|---|---|
DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Christopher Saint Booth Philip Adrian Booth |
| Produced by | Christopher Saint Booth |
| Written by | Christopher Saint Booth Philip Adrian Booth |
| Story by | Interview Material: Rosemary Ellen Guiley Troy Taylor |
| Based on | Journals: E. W. Stevens |
| Music by | Christopher Saint Booth |
| Cinematography | Christopher Saint Booth |
| Editing by | Christopher Saint Booth Philip Adrian Booth |
| Studio | Spooked Productions Twintalk Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Spooked Television Releasing (DVD) Sci Fi Channel) |
| Release date(s) | May 2009 (DVD release) October 2009 (SyFy Televison release) |
| Running time | 80 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,500,000 (est.) |
The Possessed is a 2009 documentary style horror film which was released to DVD in May 2009 and had its television debut in October that same year on SyFy.[1][2][3]
Contents |
The movie is based upon the events surrounding what became known as the 'Watseka Wonder'. Using period photographs, dramatic recreations, and interviews with subject experts, it addresses what is allegedly the first well-documented and recorded spirit possession story in America of 1877, and the subsequent recorded "possessions" suffered by Lurancy.
Beginning in 2006, and using the assistance of members of the Studio Nine class of Watseka Community High School, The Possessed was shot on locations in Watseka, Illinois, in the actual homes of, and including interviews of, the remaining family members of Lurancy Vennum.[1] The filmmakers included a repeat of an original 100-year-old séance, but were able to include modern measuring instruments. They also used footage of individuals themselves alleged to be possed.[4]
After years of violent and self-destructive behavior, a young Mary Roff from Watseka, Illinois was committed to an asylum in Peoria, Illinois, and on July 5, 1865, she died. Twelve years later, a Watseka girl named Lurancy Vennum began exhibiting the same behavior as had Mary.
When Asa Roff heard of the incident, and believing that the spirit of his deceased daughter Mary has possessed Lurancy, he convinced the Vennum family to not commit their own daughter.[2] Lurancy Vennum moved in with the Asa Roff family in 1878 and lived with them for several days. There she was examined by Dr. E. W. Stevens, who wrote about the case, and upon whose journals the film was based.[5]
Dread Central noted that the writers covered the entire story of Mary Roff and Lurancy Vellum within their documentary, with their having traveled to Illinois to interview topic experts, historians, and surviving family members. The reviewer wrote "I was fascinated by the documentary – the Booth Brothers have a wonderful knack for filming things in as creepy a way as possible and for recreating the historic events with period-correct actors." But he noted his "biggest beef" with the film was "the interjection of modern-day people, mostly teenagers, who claimed they had been possessed," in that these latter day claimants to being possessed did not seem believable, and that "the documentary was fascinating without them". Finding that whether one believes in ghosts or not, the directors "do a terrific job researching the hauntings and finding people who can explain (or not) what happened."[2]
Horror News made note that in earlier American history, those afflicted with what was then perceived as "Possession" were usually locked away from society in institutions in conditions considered brutal by modern standards.[6]