Horror movies are all about planting unexpected things in unexpected places to scare the hell out of you. The trailer for the new horror film The Possession, in theatres August 31 (watch the trailer) does just that. There’s Hebrew writing on a mysterious old box that, while nobody’s looking, sets free a demon.
The demon is actually a dybbuk, which in Jewish folklore is a spirit of someone dead that possesses the body of a living person. In this case, it creeps straight into the body of nine-year-old Em. The depiction of the monster in the trailer, with a swarm of insects and a tiny hand trying to climb its way out of the girl’s throat, will catch you off guard–even now that we’ve told you what to expect. And the sight of a familiar face playing the Hasidic rabbi at 1:29 gives another unexpected surprise. It might not make your head turn around, but it’s still pretty exciting.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
