Mason's Possession Tale

Mason's Possession Tale

Bruce Von Stiers

The first time I remember watching a film about a demonic possession was The Exorcist. Since then, I have watched a bunch of them and even reviewed more than a few. Most of those were pure imagination from the film's screenwriter. But occasionally the film was based, however loosely, on real events.

A film I just watched falls into that last category. It is a film that deals with demonic possession and “based on true happenings in Portland in 2012.”

The title of the film is 2:59. The title refers to a moment in time that is one minute before 3:00 am, a well-established “witching hour.”

The film is broken into chapters with titles such as The Fiery Darts of the Wicked and The Wiles of the Devil.

The film opens with Ryan, his girlfriend Heather and his daughter Kailee at the neighbor's door. They have come to complain about the noise coming from the neighbor's apartment. A man answers the door, huffing like he's going to hurl, but instead runs out the door and down the apartment complex breezeway.

This sets off a whole bunch of strange things. Like when they go chase after the guy, Jose, and find him out in the yard, spewing a stream of vile, black liquid from his mouth. Then he doesn't seem to realize what has happened.

Then next day Kailee ends up talking to Mason, who lives in the next apartment with his mom, Elena, and her boyfriend, who is Jose. She asks about the incident and if it happened before. They are observed by Desta, who is a fellow student at the high school.

Then, in an effort to be helpful, Ryan volunteers to try to figure out what's going on if an episode like that happens again. Well, it does and when Ryan intercedes, he has a vision that features a demonic presence.

Things kind of go downhill from there. Jose disappears and Ryan is trying to figure out what happened. He talks with his father who gives him a pseudo lecture about the power of Satan.

Desta inserts herself into the situation. She is some kind of witch, who supposedly can cast spells. She takes Kailee and Mason to meet Soren, who is kind of a Medium. Soren has agreed to help as well.

As the film progresses, there are more demonic possessions, with Ryan being the most prominent victim. There is a concentrated effort by Mason, Kailee and Desta to rid everyone of the demon that seems hellbent on cultivating as many souls as possible.

Sanae Loutsis played Kailee. She starred in Kill Craft, The Parish and The Death of Snow White. Tiego Newton played Mason. Films that he's appeared in include include Metal Kingdom and Door 7. Holland Stull played Desta. She appeared in The Death of Snow White and Devil's Knight.

Kevin Caliber played Ryan. He was in the horror film Inner Demons and one I reviewed not to long ago, A Hard Place. Amber Brooke played Ryan's girlfriend Heather. She co-starred in Slasher Dasher and Amityville Barbi vs. the Evil Dead-O's.

Richard Costa played Jose. Give Me Your Eyes is just one of several horror films he's appeared in. Ana Camacho played Elena, Jose's girlfriend and Mason's mom. She starred in The Unlost and The Swallow.

Darcy DeMoss played Lady Moreau, a fake medium who takes Ryan's money with little result. She's been in a lot of films, from Hardbodies to Clown Fear.

John D. LeMay and Laura Hunter played Desta's parents, who comically have the impression that Mason is Desta's boyfriend. Tate S. McCullough played Mr. Coolbrook, a science teacher with a negative viewpoint regarding demonic possessions.

Jason Brooks played the demon. His screen credits include The Death of Snow White and The Lizzie Bordan Game.

Ashley Undercuffler, Jen Potcher, Gabby Gillmore and Cory Watkins also appeared in the film.

There were two cast members who were a bit of a surprise to me. The first was Richie Ramone, formerly of the rock band, The Ramones. He played Soren in this film. Aside from his rock music career, Ramone has appeared in several films.

The second cast was Terry Kiser, who played Ryan's father. Probably best known for being Bernie in Weekend At Bernie's, Kiser has close to two hundred screen credits.

The film was written and directed by Kody Newton. He was the cinematographer for The Death of Snow White and directed such films as as Metal Kingdom, Eryx and The Void .

The cinematographer was Ryann Race. He was the cinematographer for Terror House and Tight 60.

The production companies involved in the film were Newton to Newton Productions and STL Productions and Real Fiction Studios.

2:59 is not your usual demonic possession film. There is a certain mysticism to the film, with Soren and Desta. And realistic angst as Kailee and Mason try to help Jose and Ryan and each other. And late in the film there's this otherworldly staircase in the forest that leads to nowhere but could lead to Hell. Or maybe not.

The acting was well done, and the cinematography was good. The only thing that I really have against the film is that the filming and special effects, with regards to the demon, could have been better. But this was an Indie production, so the usual Hollywood special effects tropes weren't there.

March 14 th was the World Premiere of 2:59. It was held at the Egyptian Theater in Boise, Idaho to a highly receptive audience.

There are tentative plans to release the film on Blu-ray in the near future. And, at a later time, the film will be available for VOD or streaming.

For additional information about 2:59 and Kody Newton, visit his production company's official website at https://www.newtontonewton.com/

And, if you want to get a glimpse of what the film is like, here is the trailer for it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru4qnuVnVq4

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