EXCL: Director & Cast Talk to Us About The Possession

Jeffrey Dean Morgan: His name is Clyde. I don’t know what my last name in the movie is. I’ve forgotten. It was so long ago that we shot it. He’s the parent of two daughters, going through a divorce. So, he’s one of these part time dads. He loves his kids, but maybe isn’t dealing with the divorce very well. And, that creates a lot of havoc in his life. He sort of becomes the fun guy for the kids to go visit, as opposed to a real parental figure; the story kind of kicks off from there. His kid picks up a Dibbuk box at a garage sale and the craziness begins from there. 

Shock: What was your experience working with Ole Bornedal, as a director?

Morgan: Love him. I wasn’t looking to do a horror movie. I think that in the last 15 years, horror films have become very much about shaky camerawork and no back story. I remember getting this offer. It came with a really nice letter from Ole, saying that he wanted me to do this movie. I didn’t read the script. I’d walk by it and read the letter and think that it was such a nice “ass kissing” letter. It was a nose right up the butt kind of letter. That got me to read the script, eventually. When I did, I immediately noticed that this was a throwback to the movies that scared the shit out of me when I was a kid. It’s a throwback to movies like The Exorcist, The Omen and Rosemary’s Baby. It had that kind of a feel. And, so I talked to Ole on the phone, and my ideas of what I had read and what he wanted to shoot were really the same. My concern was casting the Emily role, the movie’s success really hinged on that. That’s a tall order for any actor, especially a green young actor. He said that he had met a girl and wanted to send me the audition tape. I was up in my cabin in the middle of the woods and I got a DVD in the mail. I put it in and it was Natasha auditioning for Ole. It was amazing. I just called him and said that I was in. I believed he had found the girl that could play the part. 

Shock: It sounds like Natasha was really the deciding factor for you. 

Morgan: And Ole. I didn’t know a lot about him, going in, but I watched his films and loved them. He’s really great with actors, but what’s even more impressive is that he knows how to light and where to put a camera. For a movie like this, a lot of the scares and the mood has to do with where he decides to put the camera. You would think that all directors know how to do that, but it’s shocking how many do not understand how a camera works or how lighting works. That’s a big testament to Ole, and Dan, our DP. I could see this movie in my head, after reading the script, and oddly enough, I think what I saw in my head is what the final product is. Mind you, I haven’t seen the final cut. I’ve seen some of the dailies and I thought that they were really good, and I know that the performances are very good. I think we’ve got something pretty special. 

Shock: How scary do you think the film is?

Morgan: I think there is a subtle build up. I think what makes this movie terrifying is the element of truth. There’s this broken family that has something horrible happen to them. Ultimately, I think it becomes terrifying. I’ve seen bits and pieces of some stuff that scared the shit out of me. While we were shooting, I was truly scared for Natasha. You just don’t want to see an 11 year old do the things she was doing. I don’t know where she was pulling this from as an actor, but it scared me, as her friend. I only wanted the best for her. It was really important for me to make sure that she and Madison (Davenport) didn’t get caught up in all of this. It was a pretty dark place to be, particularly during the exorcism and stuff.  I remember looking and Kyra (Sedgwick) and just saying “Oh my God. How is this little girl doing this shit?” Because of that performance, and the realistic nature of what she is doing and our reactions, I think we’ve got a really scary movie. It harkens back to movies like The Shining. Because you care about these characters, it makes it all the more scary. 

Shock: Do you think the film will be a hit with horror fans?

Morgan: I think so. I do. You know the genre much better than I do. I don’t know a ton about horror, other than that it’s stopped being scary and is more about gore, within the last 15 years. I know there are exceptions to that, but the majority of stuff is like that. Ever since The Blair Witch Project came out, everybody has tried to replicate that. It doesn’t work a lot of the time. This film is a real cinematic experience. It’s what a movie is supposed to be. I think it will draw in the hard core horror fans, as well as a more mainstream audience. I know that the trailer is getting a shitload of hits on YouTube. It’s a great trailer.