Inner Demons

Inner Demons

Starring Lara Vosburgh, Morgan McClellan, Kate Whitney, Brian Flaherty

Directed by Seth Grossman

The Story:
Carson Morris (Lara Vosburgh) used to be a straight-A student who memorized the Bible, but now is a drug addict who thinks she's possessed.  Her parents - religious Beth (Colleen McGrann) and former alcoholic Steve (Christopher Parker) enlist the help of an "Intervention" style reality show to hopefully rid Carson of her addiction, led by producer Suzanne Tully (Kate Whitney), cameraman Tim (Brian Flaherty), and newcomer Jason (Morgan McClellan).

Their intervention leads Carson to accept treatment at a local detox center, but once she's off the drugs, things only turn worse, and it may turn out Carson was right - that she's really possessed by a demon.  However, the clinic, her parents, and the production crew don't believe it, except for Jason.  He tries to help her, but it might already be too late for them all.

The Synopsis:
"Inner Demons" only scratches the surface of your typical demon possessed film, and it could've elaborated more on the struggles Carson endured as well as take a more religious view, but besides that small aside, the film is actually quite enjoyable, and had some truly terrifying jump scenes.  Typically I make fun of jump scenes in movies (especially the "Paranormal Activity" series) because they seem to just exist to scare the viewer, and they're so frequent they lose their potency.  Not so with "Inner Demons," as there's only three real jump scares, and they made me jump each time.  For a smaller, independent movie, they really hit the mark there.

As far as characterizations, they're pretty plain and straightforward.  Each character has their role to play, and they play them to a T.  Carson is a truly sympathetic character, which allows you to really root for her and hope she'll do well.  Jason is the typical nice guy, who wants to save Carson at any cost.  Her parents are the typical parents who harbor dark secrets you can see coming a mile away.  Suzanne is your typical seedy producer who only wants to film stuff that will be good for TV and doesn't really care about Carson's well being.  Her doctor is your typical straight-laced professional who won't even entertain a notion of anything supernatural. 

What I liked about "Inner Demons" is how the focus is on drug rehab and treating the possession as an excuse for the behavior.  In most "uncivilized" societies, a woman like Carson would be treated as a demon-possessed individual, and would be given the treatment needed to cast the demon out.  However, in our rationalized world, we don't give credence to anything paranormal or supernatural - there must be a logical explanation to everything, and everything can be cured in a simple few-step program typically involving medication.  This obviously doesn't help Carson, and instead of going to the paranormal aspect, they talk about institutionalizing her.  I wonder how many people thrown into mental asylums actually are possessed, but we as a collective society won't allow for such nonsense.

Oh, and one final negative about the film is that they were filming in Carson's room at the detox center, and you can clearly see her being possessed be a demon, yet it seemed that no one watched the film.  Why would you put cameras in someone's room if you don't watch them?  This is my typical angst toward found footage movies, and once again it happens here.  Still, overall, it's a very entertaining, thoughtful, and provocative film.

The Summary:
"Inner Demons" takes a different spin on exorcist movies and focuses on viewing possession as a mental disease, showing how society tends to take their eyes off the paranormal.

The Score: B+