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Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Leofwine_draca Denmark isn't a country normally recognised for its contributions to the horror genre, but with this top-notch effort they really have done themselves proud. POSSESSED is a startling and unique combination of science fiction thrills and spills (the investigation of the deadly virus) and good, old-fashioned horror (the religious aspects of the disease and the impending countdown to worldwide destruction), all neatly mixed up with pre-millennial tension and a firm footing in realism to give the movie a gripping edge. Taking a break from the weary CGI antics of modern Hollywood horrors, instead this low budget tale transports us into a bleak world of death and decay, shot darkly with plenty of shadowy atmospherics and icy chills. The film as a whole uses a murky grey colour palette to give it a 'dead' look and feel which comes across admirably; as a modern exercise in post-SEVEN downbeat atmosphere and gloomy sets this is untouchable stuff.Leading the way is matter-of-fact hero Søren, a guy propelled onwards through the obsession of his case regardless of the effect it may have on his career and girlfriend. Søren is played by Ole Lemmeke, who does superbly in the part and has every element of his character nailed down correctly. Later in the story, Kirsti Eline Torhaug - playing Sarah, the girlfriend - is also given a chance to shine with some memorable histrionics, whilst a surprise plot twist throws her character into the limelight and gives her a real chance to shine. The only familiar face in the cast is Udo Kier, who puts in a small but pivotal turn as a ruthless priest fighting the forces of darkness - Kier is magnificent in the part, which gives him far greater depth and acting scope than his recent cameo appearances in Hollywood fare have allowed.The slow-burning nature of the plot may be off putting to some, but unusually this is a film which gets better as it goes along. The last half an hour and in particular the finale are wonderfully gripping and horrific, turning the whole scientific basis of the plot around on its head and introducing some very dark, important elements. The payoff for the slightly dry and wordy first half of the film is well worth it and the film ends on a real high. POSSESSED is a great movie which easily beats modern Hollywood rivals on the same theme (BLESS THE CHILD, etc.), which sadly will never achieve the status it deserves due to it being foreign and sometimes subtitled. My recommendation is to track it down and give it a try - you won't be disappointed.

Coventry Unless I'm overlooking some titles, "Possessed" is only the third Danish horror film I've seen in my life and, speaking purely in terms of quality and entertainment value, it neatly ranks between the other two. "Possessed", written and directed by Anders Rønnow Klarlund, is not as dazzlingly terrific as Ole Bornedal's superior serial-killer thriller "Nattevagten", but it's undoubtedly numerous times better than that Danish attempt at making a slasher movie, entitled "Mørekeleg". But the comparison between these three films already stops with the country of origin, as the substance of Klarlund's films covers entirely different – and far more ambitious – themes. The most praising thing I can say about "Possessed" is that it has a solid and intelligent (albeit slow-moving) script, even though you only come to fully realize this quite late in the film. For more than an hour of playtime, you appear to be following two entirely separate story lines and it's practically impossible to link the events together. After the death of a Romanian man in a Danish hospital, the overzealous virologist Søren and his student-girlfriend Sarah travel to Romania; hoping to find out more about the origin of the deadly disease. Meanwhile, the oddly behaving priest/doctor Vincent Monreau stalks the people with whom the Romanian had contact before he died, as if he intends to prevent the virus from spreading even before these people suffer from any symptoms. It's really too bad that most plot summaries and even the film's own DVD cover image (showing a pentagram) already reveal a reasonably important piece of the story's main twist. Most reviewers describe "Possessed" as a mixture between medical thriller and occult horror, but truthfully it isn't, since the medical theories promptly vanish when the occult stuff is hinted at. The twist – if you can even call it that – is profound and extremely intelligent, in my humble opinion. It's creepy and convincing although incredibly far-fetched and, even more importantly, every tiniest detail that looked confusing and senseless at first now suddenly fits with the wholesome of the picture. Just because Klarlund's script is so extremely careful with revealing information and clues during the first hour, "Possessed" occasionally feels a little dull and distant. Some sequences, like the ones shot on location in Romania, come across as redundant padding footage. The last half, however, instantly makes you forget all the tiny little flaws and defects and particularly the climax is nail-bitingly suspenseful (and very Anti-Hollywood, I may add). Obviously I'm not too familiar with the Danish cast members, but the film definitely benefices from the presence of horror veteran and cult icon Udo Kier as the crazed occultist. What an awesome performer that guy is!

martinr Summary pretty much says it all. This is yet another Satan's son is born to earth story, and yet another evil spirit transferring from one person to another story. It's been done time and time again, and I think it's about worn out. But the film is well executed and well acted. Definitely worth a look if you haven't seen other films with similar plots.

Kristoffer Nilaus Olsen With a plot that seems to have been heavily inspired by productions such as Warlock (1989), Outbreak (1995) and "Riget" (1994), this movie uses the Danish medical community as exemplified by the National Hospital to build an instant atmosphere of impending doom.Unlike "Riget", which featured a plot that ended up in a Twin Peaks-like parody of surrealism, the focus in this movie is not on the medical community itself, but on the investigation by a young doctor of the mystical spread of a strange new virus.In parallel with this activity we have the police pursuing a man suspected of arson (impressingly performed by Udo Kier).The two threads end up colliding in a way that will not be revealed here.The movie contains some interesting scenes from Romania, where the young doctor tries to collect a marrow sample to analyse the virus. These scenes are quite important in building the atmosphere so important for a thriller, and they are executed nicely.Basically, all horror movies reiterate the same old message of "how terrible it is, when you're powerless." The interesting new part is usually the way in which ingredients are mixed, conveying a story full of scares, to which the contemporary viewer can relate."Besat" is no exception from this rule: As a true child of it's time, the dominant themes used in this movie are the threat of a global epidemic, cultic prophecies of apocalypse, the horrible living conditions of the poor in Eastern Europe, and how a man's single-minded pursuit of his career can turn him into a monster.All in all some good, well-executed entertainment, but don't expect to find anything new here.