The Taking of Deborah Logan Review – A Tragic and Visceral Possession Tale

Welcome to Knockout Horror. We are checking out another supernatural found footage today in the form of Adam Robitel’s The Taking of Deborah Logan.

A touching sensitive topic

Following the story of an elderly woman called Deborah Logan who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and a group of students making a documentary about the condition, the movie sees our students spend an extended period of time living alongside, and filming, her as her condition becomes increasingly worse. As the bizarre incidents and strange behaviour begin to build up, it is clear that there may be something else at hand causing the issues here.

Like the aforementioned Australian horror movie Relic, The Taking of Deborah Logan is, for much of its length, a touching exploration into the realities of living with somebody who suffers from Alzheimer’s. As well as the tragic struggles that the sufferer themselves faces each and every day. Deborah Logan is a person who is extremely keen on manners and properness. The continual forgetfulness and strange behaviour that she is now exhibiting is deeply at odds with her typical personality.

For the first 30 minutes or so, this is a movie that seems to be squarely focused in reality. We see Deborah living her life and the complications she experiences. We see her daughter’s turmoil as she attempts to help her and the problems the pair have financially. It’s not exactly mundane as it is a genuinely interesting presentation of life with a serious illness. But the horror seems to be far away at this point.

Effective possession horror

But things are fairly quick to change. The odd behaviour starts becoming increasingly aggressive and everything is turned up to extremes. The movie goes from a slow, methodical, story about someone suffering an illness to a full-blown supernatural horror in a matter of minutes. Naturally this is going to throw some people off base. The change is quite sudden and a bit jarring. But once the horror gets going the movie has some genuinely tense moments.

“The movie goes from a slow, methodical story about someone suffering an illness to a full-blown supernatural horror in a matter of minutes.”

Naturally, some people are probably wondering whether The Taking of Deborah Logan was real or based on a true story? And the answer to that, thankfully, is no but its depiction of the effects of Alzheimer’s are frighteningly accurate. The movie could be, I suppose, classed as something of a mockumentary.

It’s fast-paced and takes place in a number of different locations which helps to keep things fresh. And the story is ever developing, adding layer upon layer of exposition to push things along at a consistent pace.

Sure, Robitel doesn’t exactly do anything particularly new with the old possession formula but what is here does work rather well. This is one of those movies that is almost a palette cleanser after watching a bunch of slower movies or classics. It’s just high-energy horror that never really stops and never asks too much of the viewer.

Not a perfect movie

There is a distinct Hollywood Horror feeling to The Taking of Deborah Logan. Meaning you should expect some of the more recent trends in horror to rear their ugly heads. There are a lot of jump scares here and the volume disparity is used often to shock the viewer. While the movie isn’t particularly gory, it can be quite rough in parts. The continually frenetic pace makes for some horrendously obnoxious camera work, as well. With shaky cam everywhere and constant zooming in and out of the shot like a 90’s video game console commercial.

It’s pretty awful in parts and the last 15 minutes or so can be a bit of a chore for how silly they look. I would argue that this is a relic of this era of found footage. Zoom ins and fast-moving shots used to illustrate chaos are all well and good. But they are massively overused here and when you combine that with the constant screaming, it’s a bit frustrating.

My fiancée always points out how dark the movie is, as well. Nobody in this house ever even gives an iota of thought to switching on a light and it is very annoying.

Some excellent body horror

You may be wondering how scary is The Taking of Deborah Logan? And I would say the answer to that is actually surprisingly scary. It mixes up a few different elements to keep the scares going and most of them are pretty effective. Some of the body horror here more than makes up for the jump scares and overall cheapness of some of the presentation.

Some of the most violent scenes in The Taking of Deborah Logan, where Deborah rips at her skin, are positively wince inducing and Jill Larson’s slender physique only adds to this. Deborah feels frail and this makes you really buy in to the horror of what is happening to her. Some dodgy effects later on deserve pointing out for how silly they are but this is a movie that manages some decent tension.

“Some of the most violent scenes, where Deborah rips at her skin, are positively wince-inducing. Jill Larson’s slender physique only adds to the horror.”

Although I complained about the overuse of darkness, some of the scenes that take place in attics and out in the woods are seriously effective. The claustrophobic view of the camera keeps you guessing as to just what is lurking outside of shot and you are always waiting for the next scare. It’s done really well and I was a particularly big fan of the slow build towards things getting weird. It doesn’t just happen, it is subtle and develops gradually.

Decent acting but some poor camera work

Acting is strong throughout. I loved seeing Michelle Ang. She played Lori in Aussie soap opera Neighbours so I remember seeing her on television a lot years ago. She does great here and is a legitimately fantastic actor. She is also doing some producing and directing now, I believe, which is pretty awesome.

Jill Larson is brilliant as Deborah, she is utterly believable as a prim and proper elderly lady but equally effective in later parts of the movie where she manages to be simply terrifying. Anne Ramsay is equally as convincing as Deborah’s daughter Sarah and really does a great job relating her character’s fear and terror in the later parts of the movie.

Camera work, as mentioned above, will piss a few people off. It’s just so chaotic and the continual zooming in and out of shots is obnoxious. Found footage is divisive as it is and this is no exception. The Taking of Deborah Logan is a bit of a strange movie in a lot of ways. It looks like it is Hollywood’s take on found footage.

“Jill Larson is brilliant as Deborah. She is utterly believable as a prim and proper elderly lady but equally terrifying in the later parts of the movie.”

It uses all of the same tricks of this type of horror and then applies extra flavouring and spice to the typically bland handheld camera format. I am not sure whether it works all that well to be honest. The vast majority of the movie doesn’t use these techniques, however. They are reserved for the last act.

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Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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