PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Every once in a while, a movie comes along that defies your expectations. It offers you more than you ever thought possible, and if you’re lucky, it sticks with you for a while after the credits roll. The Taking Of Deborah Logan is one of those movies.
The Taking Of Deborah Logan was directed by Adam Robitel (his directorial debut) from a script by Rabitel and Gavin Heffernan. The film was produced by Jeff Rice and Bryan Singer (yes, the Bryan Singer that made The Usual Suspects, Trick ‘r Treat, and the better installments of the X-Men franchise) and stars Jill Larson in the titular role. The movie follows Mia (Michelle Ang), Gavin (Brett Gentile), and Luis (Jeremy DeCarlos) – a film crew – as they are set to make a documentary about Deborah Logan, an elderly woman who is believed to be suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The crew moves in with Deborah and her daughter (Anne Ramsay) as they begin filming her, but soon learn something sinister of her condition.
As I mentioned above, The Taking Of Deborah Logan shattered my expectations. How good could another found footage film actually be? There are very few cool kids at the over-crowded found footage party as it is, and I thought that this would surely be another stinker in a long line of stinkers. Boy, was I wrong. Not only was The Taking Of Deborah Logan a good film, it ended up being one of the greatest films of the entire subgenre. But why did it work so well?
It’s actually scary.
As a grown man with a beard and a height advantage, it is against my nature to admit those three words. I don’t throw that compliment around lightly. Adam Robitel crafted an intense amount of unsettling atmosphere throughout the film, and several of the scenes are genuinely creepy. There’s one scene in particular that takes place in a cave during the film’s final act, and I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s one of the biggest “fuck that” moments I’ve seen in quite some time. As a horror film, I could recommend The Taking Of Deborah Logan on the very basis that it’s frightening. With this film, however, there is more to be admired, particularly Jill Larson in the lead role.
Larson is brilliant in the way that she encompasses a woman who is not in control of her mind. There are times that you feel utterly heartbroken for her character, there are times you want to slap her in the head and put her in a home, and there are times that you are genuinely afraid of her. Larson’s powerhouse performance is far and away the highlight of the film. That’s not to say that the other actors don’t pull their weight, though. Michelle Ang is great as Mia, the concerned leader of the film crew, and Anne Ramsay is another standout as Deborah’s daughter, Sarah.
The only issue I have with The Taking Of Deborah Logan is more of a nitpick, really. If an elderly woman who is suffering from Alzheimer’s becomes dangerous to herself and to others, I don’t foresee doctors allowing her to return home over and over again. She would most certainly be committed to a place in which she could receive proper care. Still, even with the gap in logic, there are too many great things going for this film to not be recommended.
Final Thoughts: The Taking Of Deborah Logan is a terrifically acted horror film and one of the greatest that the subgenre of found footage has to offer. It happens to be one of my favorite horror flicks of the decade, and I have no doubt that it could become one of yours also. Turn on Netflix, guys. This is a good one.
