Day 8

The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)

Directed By Adam Robitel

The Taking Of Deborah Logan is a found footage movie (woooooooo!) with a unique premise. A small film crew is shooting a documentary on the effects of rapid onset dementia, so they’re filming what happens to and around Deborah Logan, an elderly woman who is beginning to succumb to the awful disease. Very early into the filming it becomes apparent that something worse than dementia is inflicting Deborah Logan, as she begins exhibiting increasingly strange and erratic behavior. There’s a lot to like about The Taking of Deborah Logan, one of the best things being the acting, which is all around great but the performance that really sells the movie is that of Jill Larson, who plays the eponymous Deborah Logan. Everyone’s performances feel real but Larson manages something truly special, which makes the movie extremely uncomfortable at times, especially for people who have loved ones with some form of dementia.

Additionally, there’s an excellent sense of spooky atmosphere that makes this perfect viewing for this season, particularly in the first half of the film. Where the story ends up going is where our problems with the movie kind of start. No spoilers, but the plot goes to some weird out there places, with plot details that, in my opinion, don’t match up with the original style and tone established in the beginning of this film. I’m sure some people really liked that about this movie but it didn’t work as well for us. Regardless of that, there are a ton of great visuals, and even if the story and pacing threw us a bit, this is still a good movie that we would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a creepy possession movie that isn’t afraid to go to some dark places.