The Containment is an average possession horror flick with a few very original ideas up its sleeve. Written by David Desola and Yossy Zagha, the film follows 14-year-old Caroline (Gia Hunter) through a really rough time, even for a teenager. We meet Caroline just as her father has died in a tragic accident. As a consequence her younger brother has become non verbal. Then her mother, Hunter (Charlotte Hunter), does what she can but is no match for the struggles of high school much less Caroline’s eventual possession. An even collection of familiar tropes and sudden left turns makes The Containment enjoyable enough. Yet there are too many moments that leave you either baffled or bored to really call this exceptional.
We start with a deliciously brutal cold open where a mother holds a shotgun at her ranting teen, certain that he is possessed by a demon. The moment goes as well as we could expect and an insect emerges from from the teen’s lifeless body and flies out an open window. Next we meet Caroline. Her father is dead, her younger brother won’t speak, and her mother is utterly tone-deaf in helping either of them. Caroline’s only true friend Marnie (Lelia Yvetta) gives her space to exist and to process, but Marnie also equates shared suffering to bonding. The two burn themselves with cigarettes to share the pain. Meanwhile Caroline’s mom, reeling from the death of her husband, is fumbling through new and confusing feelings that she is having for her close friend, May (Alice Coulthard). Late one night, the insect from the beginning of the film finds its way into Caroline’s bedroom one night and crawls down her throat and a new possession begins.
The idea of a physical manifestation of a possessive entity is interesting, but not new. Writers Desola and Zagha inject the idea with originality by having the creature appear as a sort of wandering tattoo on the skin of its host. As friends and family begin noticing Caroline’s “tattoo” and edgy behavior, Caroline herself realizes that things aren’t right. After the troubled teen causes a scene at a local Catholic church, Sister Esperanza (Fernanda Romero) brings Caroline back home and suggests there might be a supernatural reason for her sudden and erratic behavior. After receiving no support from the local priesthood, Sister Esperanza decides to take matters into her own hands by attempting an exorcism on Caroline.
With a feminine strike against religious patriarchy and abuse, The Containment has a nice bite of relevance. I have to give praise to the supporting players including Charlotte Hunter as a mom in the throws of tragedy and personal confusion. Romero‘s plucky Sister Esperanza is also an intriguing performance, as is Yvetta‘s genuine turn as Marnie. I would also give praise to the effective creature effects that depict a massive horned beetle burrowing into the mouth of its victims to stomach-churning effect. Yet the film can’t seem to overcome the weaknesses of a bland lead and bits of clunky dialogue. The Containment certainly benefits by firing on all other cylinders not the least of which is an elegant look and an truly original and inventive story by Desola and Zagha.
This homily isn’t perfect but it has enough going for it to be sinfully scary.
