The Taking Of Deborah Logan

Have you noticed something lately ?

I have been writing more horror reviews than drama, so is there a reason for this ? Not really, i basically just pick out a few movies, no matter what the category is. If i just focused on one category it would be dull, instead i try and review all genres. This autumn have had a lot of horror releases, and to be honest i have not checked a lot of them out, because some does not even look interesting. I know what they say:- Never judge a book by its cover. And that can be true, but sometimes you feel that titles like Wrong Turn 6, may not deliver anyway, since the 5th was really horrible ( i did review Wrong Turn 5 a long time ago ). So here we are with another exorcism movie, how many have been released in just a year ? I think its the same number as how many women Gene Simmons have had sex with, so quite a high number indeed. Possessed humans is a subject we see in films every year, in many different stories. You may have seen the summer horror movie Deliver Us From Evil with Eric Bana. Exorcism films are very popular, and it seems that there will always be a big passion for many people on possessions.. One reason might be that people seems to enjoy this genre, and i still say that The Exorcist from 1973, is the best film in this genre. The Taking Of Deborah Hill is a new horror film, from director Adam Robitel. Since we have seen so many releases in this genre, does this one bring something fresh, or is this another wasteless release you might as well forget ?

A film team, Mia ( Michelle Ang ), Gavin ( Brett Gentile ) and Luis ( Jeremy DeCarlos ), are making a documentary about a woman named Deborah ( Jill Larson ) is diagnosed with Alzheimer. Her daughter Sarah ( Anne Ramsay ) arranged this meeting, because Deborah does not have enough money, keeping the house from being repossessed. At first Deborah does not like the idea to be filmed, and interviewed, but she eventually agree to do this. The film team set up cameras all over her house, to get a glimpse of what is happening to Deborah in her disease. For each day that goes by, Deborah is doing very strange things, having aggressive issues. It comes to a point when Sarah take her mother to the hospital to find answers to her behavior. The doctors belive that there is a pattern to her behavior, that is included in Alzheimer. As the film team try and film as much material as possible, they begin to realise that there might be something more than her diagnose behind her odd personality. They try to dig deeper into what is going on with Deborah, but the answer may not be what they thought. Deborah is becoming worse, and with no answers to what is really going on. One of the documentary film makers find out, that Deborah have written down a name on a paper, with the letters of local physician Henry Desjardins ( Kevin A. Campbell ). He disappeared after a series of cannibalistic ritualized murders of four young girls. Is there a connection to Henry Desjardins and Deborah, or is the answer much more complicated than we would understand ?

If you were hoping to find something unique, or very original, don´t expect to do so. I would still say that The Taking Of Deborah Logan, have at least tried to go a different path in the exorcism genre. Since this is mostly about a woman with Alzheimers, it makes the story feel more interesting than the usual demon possession. Is she really possessed or is this the Alzheimers that have taken over her completely ? The possession scenes may not be very unique, but since there is a medical perspective on Alzheimer, you feel a different perspective on the human mind. Jill Larson who plays her character Deborah, does a great performance as the diagnosed woman. She seems to have found a great balance, how to play a patient in need of help, and the possessed human ( this is a hard mix to handle ). Director Adam Robitel have mostly worked on films as an editor, and an actor on different films in the past. The Taking Of Deborah Logan is a good start for his first feature film, he seems to know how to do exorcism horror in a positive way. I might feel that he could have given us a nice surprise along the way, something unexpected, and this would have been even better. Still, if you love demon possessions, with a different approach than the usual genre films, this might be something in your taste. One thing is for sure, i am sleeping with a crucifix tonight, and my holy water.....you never now when demons will show up.  By the way, did you know legendary director Bryan Singer is one of the producers of thie film ? Maybe he can direct a film in this genre also ? I would like to see what script he would lay his hands on.

Rating: DDD