Schizophrenia and Shadow Beings fuel Demonic possession and our fascination with it has a long and storied history. Lines blur between religion, mental health concerns, fanaticism, and science. Our obsession with the devil and what “he” can do to a weakened or susceptible person has been the subject of many books and movies, the best known being The Exorcist. Recent years have seen a slew of possession films, and to me each was more disappointing than the one prior. I began to think that maybe the genre was worn out. Maybe we needed to put this subject to bed. Then I saw THE ASSENT.

Joel (Robert Kazinski) is a single father, trying his best to keep his shaky grasp on the life he has built for himself and his son Mason (Caden Dragomer), after Mason’s mom was killed in a car wreck. Joel has a history of schizophrenia, and the state is watching him closely to ensure he’s capable of caring for Mason. He has an intense therapist, Dr. Maya (Florence Faivre) watching nearly his every move. He has to turn in receipts for babysitting services to prove he’s providing adequate care, he has to report on his job search, and Dr. Maya even counts his pills each week to make sure he’s taking his medication as prescribed. The stress and grief would be enough to get to anyone, but when Mason begins showing signs of schizophrenia himself, Joel panics. The babysitter, Cassie (Hannah Ward), quits with no warning, he’s losing his below-minimum-wage job, and when Joel and Mason both blow up at Cassie, she takes her concerns to the local church.

Brother Michael (Douglas Spain) has recently taken in exiled priest Father Lambert (Peter Jason), who is fresh from prison after accidentally killing a child during an exorcism. When Cassie begins to describe the bizarre and out of character behavior of both Joel and Mason, Father Lambert suggests he and Brother Michael make a visit. Before they can get to Joel, however, the supernatural and bizarre events occuring in his home, and his visions of shadow beings, escalate to uncontrollable levels, and when help arrives, both Joel and Mason are unconscious and injured. Once Father Lambert wakes Joel and informs him of his dire situation, the exorcism begins. Will Father Lambert be able to save Mason? Will Mason become just another victim? How much is Joel willing to risk to ensure he doesn’t lose everything?

THE ASSENT is a visually rich, stunningly symbolic, artful take on horror. The small character note of Joel being an artist and using his art to cope with his mental illness permeates the very fabric of this film. Art drips from every frame of the dark, grimy atmosphere of Joel and Mason’s home. In a genius choice, the art Joel creates surrounds him in eyes, faces, unknown beings – and the symbolism is not lost on the viewer. Owls figures, an omen of death and the passing between worlds to many indigenous cultures, scatter Mason’s bedroom. The more you look the more you see, and the more depth and darkness there is to this visual masterpiece.

I appreciate the effort made to lay the groundwork for a phenomenal twist ending, but as the twist came I found myself slightly disappointed. While the audience can see the twist coming, it’s not as satisfying, or alternately as subversive as I was hoping for. Further, an overwrought “recap” of prior events through the lens of the twist takes away from any real intricacy and subtlety. An additional flash-forward tag felt like it was a last-minute addition, added after test audiences or at the urging of a producer. So, while the journey of THE ASSENT was satisfying, the last fifteen or so minutes left me feeling less thrilled with the overall film than I would have been without that addition. As I often do with independent horror, I found myself wishing for one more draft of the script, or one more round of testing before it reached me. Close, but not quite there.

Robert Kazinski is solid as a rock and beautifully afflicted as Joel. Without his very delicate balance between sympathy and psychosis, this story would fall flat, and we would lose any tie to this fast-paced and frantic narrative. His stoicism juxtaposes the chaos around him perfectly until he finally reaches his breaking point. The cracks show slowly, organically, and without being overperformed. The rest of the ensemble, including young Mason, are equally solid and hold their own against the supernatural and paranormal occurring around them.

Ambitious and artful, THE ASSENT holds its ground and will hold its place in the lexicon of possession films. I won’t be surprised if it doesn’t become a beloved cult classic – not in an ironic sense, but for the pure art that is laid out visually for the viewer. A unique take on mental health and deep human struggles maintain a heart in the chaos of this thrill-fest, and even with a slightly dissatisfying ending, I found myself ready to rewatch – a definite rarity in possession films.

7 out of 10 owls