Directed by Adam Robitel, The Taking of Deborah Logan (also known as The Taking), is a possession movie with a twist.
Ph.D. student Mia Medina (Michelle Ang- Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son) is making a documentary to chronicle the mental disintegration of an Alzheimer’s patient. Her subject is Deborah Logan (Jill Larson- All My Children TV Series) and her struggling daughter, Sarah (Anne Ramsay- Planet of the Apes, 2001). Deborah has just been diagnosed with exhibiting early signs of the debilitating disease, and she’s the perfect candidate to study.
Mother and daughter have a strained relationship from Deborah’s disdain for daughter’s apparent sexuality, but Sarah still shows up as the responsible daughter and handles her stress privately with booze. When Mia and her film maker crew (Brent Gentile – We’re the Millers), and Luis (Jeremy DeCarlos – In/Significant Others) set up stay within the Logan household and begin their documentary, it is evident that Deborah needs round-the-clock care. She accidentally sets fires to things, launches into sudden and violent rages, rips at her skin and becomes paranoid, accusing the crew of stealing her things.
At first, it seems like Deborah is simply a time-bomb waiting to go off, but once the filmmakers start poking around and discovering all sorts of secrets, what starts out as a study of a woman with a devastating disease, quickly turns into something far worse than medical science can diagnose or understand.
As Logan, Jill Larson gives an absolutely fearless performance with willing to go as far as it takes. You have to admire her ability to portray her ailing character so well. Larson and Ramsay also work very well together as mother and daughter, the emotional aspects and bond of their relationship were believable.
Co-writer and first-time director Adam Robitel’s The Taking of Deborah Logan is free of pretension and sometimes logic but it’s a fresh take on a possession story, and I applaud the efforts. Produced by Bryan Singer and co-written by Gavin Heffernan, the story gave me more awareness to a terrible disease and I believed in what was happening. You may think this is “just another possession movie” but the scares are real and it’s an emotionally disturbing film. I would recommend giving this one a look.
The Taking of Deborah Logan is now available on VOD and DVD.
WICKED RATING: 7/10
Title: The Taking of Deborah Logan
Director: Adam Robitel
Writer(s): Gavin Heffernan, Adam Robitel
Stars: Jill Larson, Anne Ramsay, Michelle Ang
Year: 2014
Studio/ Production Co: Bad Hat Harry Productions, Casadelic Pictures, Jeff Rice Films
Budget: (unknown)
Language: English
Length: 90mins
Sub-Genre: Found Footage, Thriller
