Low Budget Love: Ava's Possessions
Film: Ava's Possessions (2015)
So what do we have here? Just another solid pickup for a dollar. Honestly, one of the better horror comedies in a while, and I'll tell you why; the comedy fits the horror.
Very often in horror comedies we get over-the-top ridiculous humor with intentionally silly gore and a simple yet coherent plot. Its more comedy than horror, but it mixes enough to make it a decent watch.
What I loved about this film is that the comedy feels like it belongs. The movie takes itself serious, and doesn't at the same time. Instead of the classic horror movie reactions to things like possessions and demons, we get a more muted and organic comical touch.
The movie does have a great way of making what is a horror trope feel like a regularity, and with that comes the mundane and irritation of every day life. It becomes so much more relatable, and that makes the comedy work.
It's not the typical horror slapstick, it plays more like a sitcom of sorts, in the truest sense. It’s situation comedy dealing with horror. That alone lends to a sort of relatable aspect that you don't often get with a horror movie. The plot is usually so out there that its more of just a viewing pleasure, but this can touch on a lot of aspects of life that we deal with all the time, and put it into the context of the story.
Feeling like a fuck up, being the black sheep, or feeling like you aren't part of the loop anymore. The struggle with a part of your life that is embarrassing to talk about or explain, all these things come out through the story and make Ava as a character feel just like someone you might know, or even mirror some things you've gone through before. That is the way to connect to the audience, and this movie does it well.
Aside from that, the movie does a great job of juxtaposing regular daily scenes with night scenes that are bathed in neon aesthetics. The colors used to make day and night feel different are just a superb touch and adds to the story being a genuine fun ride.
We get a strong sense that this movie is made for fans of horror, specifically supernatural and possession horror. It just ticks all the boxes and makes sure to play off some of the simple things those fans would know.
The acting and story are very well done. The characters, particularly our protagonist, Ava, have enough depth and charm to make us care about each one as the story unfolds.
There is a good story as well, one that has layers of mystery that get peeled back every so often. It really is still a bit of a guessing game that you play until the end, which offers not only a nice reveal but wraps the story together nicely as well.
So what is this movie really? This is a perfect horror movie for a chill night. Want to relax and get a horror fix but also have a few laughs? This is the one. It doesn't go too extreme either way, and sits right in a perfect middle ground, even for those who are big horror fans. Definitely worth a watch, any way you can find it.
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