The latest from Danish filmmaker Ole Bornedal is called Possession, but its original title was actually "Dibbuk Box." If you are unfamiliar with that phrase, the real winebox (left) was purported to have belonged to a Holocaust survivor and was evidently haunted by a malicious Jewish spirit or "dybbuk." In 2003, it was auctioned on eBay along with the new owner's scary tale. You can see the original listing here with the spooky story in detail.
Silly as it may seem to make a movie inspired by an eBay auction, the "dibbuk box" is actually a pretty good campfire story and has since become an urban legend. After sitting on the shelf for a few years, and being gutted down to a PG-13 rating, the newly titled Possession is finally set to release August 31st, 2012.
MTV just released the first still from the movie, take a look:
Produced by Sam Raimi's company Ghost House Pictures, the film stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick. In this version, the box is purchased at a yard sale and a girl becomes possessed by the dibbuk inside of it. I am most looking forward to this one because of Bornedal, whose Danish work I always enjoy. He has not made a film Stateside since he remade his own movie, Nightwatch (not to be confused with Timur Bekmambetov's Night Watch). If you have not seen Bornedal's thriller, Just Another Love Story, do so right away. It's on Netflix Instant. Go. Now.
