THE POSSESSION OF HANNAH GRACE

US, 2018, 87 minutes, Colour.

Shay Mitchell, Grey Damon, Kirby Johnson, Nick Thune, Louis Jeerthum, Stana Katicc.

Directed by Diederik van Rooijen.

While there is later mention of the church and exorcisms, the only section focusing on clergy and exorcisms is the prologue, two priest present, a young woman, Hannah Grace, possessed and with contortions, her disturbed father present, one of the priests held by the demonic presence and impaled on a crucifix, the other levitating and suffocating, saved only by the father actually smothering his daughter. The rest of the film is the equivalent of a kind of ghost/zombie haunting story, focusing on a former police woman who has suffered trauma and his going to job on the night shift in a morgue.

Most of the action takes place in the morgue, at night, the body being brought in that of Hannah Grace, eerie atmosphere, strange behaviour by the corpse, some grim killings, a final confrontation between Hannah Grace and her father but her killing him, the morgue attendant, however, burning Hannah Grace’s body in the furnace.

1. The tradition of possession and the exorcist films? A variation? The equivalent of a ghost story?
2. The Boston setting, the church and the exorcism, police precincts, the morgue, the details of the interiors, corridors, offices, shelves? The musical score?
3. The prologue, the tradition of exorcism films, the possessed woman, her father, the two priests, the prayer and rituals, the priest impaled on the crucifix, the threat to the of the priest, the father killing his daughter and saving the priest?
4. The transition to the Morgan police story? Megan, police career, the case and her breaking, tablets, group meetings, taking the job at the morgue, past relationship with Andi?
5. Randy, delivering the body to the morgue, Megan not wanting to go out, his persuading her? The staff at the morgue, the night shift, Dave at the office, Lisa and her advice, security guards?
6. Hannah Grace’s body, the wounds, the contortion, Megan examining it, the experts, explanations?
7. The beginning of the eerie experiences, Megan and her imagination, the drawer opening, examining the body, the changes? The hallucination of the flies? The presences in the corridor, the surveillance footage? The discussions with Andi, the fingerprints, the drivers license, the death three months earlier? Lisa and her reassurance?
8. The father, wanting to get in, the sinister presence, wanting the body burnt, the police arriving, taken away, the interrogations, his return, the confrontation with Megan, wanting to burn the body, the incinerator, his death?
9. More sinister happenings, Dave, hitting the ball, the attack by Anna, her crawling around the roof, raised, his death? Lisa, her fears, going to the roof, torture and death? The latest stabbing of the security guard?
10. Randy, his return, the discussions with Megan, his looking at the body, the personal story, alcoholism, photo of the child, the threats, the pathos of his being killed?
11. The buildup to the confrontation between Megan and Hannah Grace, Andy and his interventions, his being saved, the fight between the two, to the incinerator, Hannah Grace and her death?
12. Megan, wanting the job, her future, the issue with the pills and his accusation, Lisa allowing her to have them, surviving, her training and running, the fly – and her determination to have a full life?