THE TORMENT is another familiar low budget supernatural horror film, this time with a British slant. The style of the movie is clearly influenced by the likes of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, but the decision to shoot 90% of the scenes in a dark house and the excessive use of shaky cam means that viewers are unable to see or even make out much of what transpires. Before long you won't even care, given that the characters are so unengaging.The narrative is a cheap three-hander in which your boringly average couple are visited in their home by one of the husband's friends. Unfortunately for them he's brought a demon with him, so lots of screaming and running around ensue. If I had found any of this in the least bit frightening I might have enjoyed it more, but as it stands it's all rather dull. The ending is boring in its expected ambiguity, and the acting is rather wobbly, particularly from Francesca Fowler.

I saw this movie with very low expectations since the reviews and ratings on IMDb where so low. However, this is arguably one of the best horror movies I saw coming out of recent British horror cinema. The acting was good and the characters convincing, as was the cinematography. I'm usually very disappointed by many horror movie creatures. However, this movie stands out as having particularly original and gruesome creatures. As a Lovecraft fan, I felt that the movie had very appealing lovecraftian elements, especially the diary which might have been a bit much. This, along with the uninspiring title, might be my two main reproaches to the movie. Contrary to what another reviewer commented, the obscurity surrounding the creatures' motivations, the reasons for their appearance or their very existence, makes the movie even better; they don't ruin it by providing a stupid explanation as in other movies. We are left in the same uncertainty as the characters. It managed to make me doubt if I wanted to turn off the lights.I preferred this movie to Insidious and to Paranormal Activity. It clearly does not deserve such a low rating. It's simple and efficient story far surpasses the recent crap people sometimes call horror.

Man comes to friends home. Stays over the night and a few days. Is possessed by demons ( no suspense about how they look !!! ). Bad ending ...I am sure that if you are on this page and reading this that you would have seen 1. Paranormal Activity 1 2. Paranormal Activity 2 3. Blair Witch Project 4. Quarantine 5. CloverfieldObviously you liked what you saw in terms of the POV camera play , the story lines, the strong story lines, not really being able to seeThe Possession of David O'Reilly is similar to none of them. It tries and it tries hard but fails miserably on all counts. The creature effects are amateurish, the story line is never explained clearly.Bad Bad Movie .... Please don't waste any money or bandwidth

Just after midnight, a young London couple receive a visit from their friend David who appears distraught, telling them that his girlfriend has been unfaithful and needs a place to stay for the night. Sometime after three in the morning, David is left downstairs whilst the others depart. It's only whilst looking in a mirror that David sees something out of the corner of his eye and, as he investigates, he comes face to face with something utterly nightmarish. But this isn't his first encounter with the horrors that lurk in the dark. He's met them before... and now he's brought them with him to his friends' apartment.This low budget British movie from Andrew Cull and Steve Isles has drawn a lot of comparisons to "Paranormal Activity" which is unfair. Whilst there are certain similarities (characters stalked within a building by an unknown horror over a series of nights and the use of POV shots), those similarities are quite superficial. "The Possession Of David O'Reilly" was conceived and shot before "Paranormal Activity", and seems to draw more influence from the works of Clive Barker and George Romero than Oren Peli's 2007 horror movie. This is a movie steeped in a foreboding atmosphere with long silent scenes taking place in virtual darkness, events illuminated only by a single light source – such as a cell phone or the moon through curtains.That's not to say that the movie doesn't have some significant problems. Despite not using the 'lost footage' style of "Paranormal Activity", the directors frequently film scenes from the point of view of one of the three characters. Whilst this does add tension in certain places, it's ultimately overused diluting the intended effect as the movie continues. As with most horror movies, the main characters are also prone to making bad decisions which make their situation worse and this only serves to undermine the story in places. In addition, we are given very little back story about any of the characters and there are some definite pacing issues.What's most frustrating about "The Possession Of David O'Reilly" is that it has the potential to be a lot better than the end product suggests. The make-up effects for the horrific creatures are generally pretty good, and often accompanied with terrific eerie sound effects that heighten the scares. In the main role, Giles Alderson is fantastic; perfectly demonstrating his character's loosening grasp on reality as events unfold. Finally, the story itself succeeds as many times as it fails, and some scenes will definitely make you jump if you're watching the movie in a dark room with no distractions.However, I was left feeling largely ambivalent at the conclusion of "The Possession Of David O'Reilly". Whilst there were glimpses of a great horror movie at times, the absence of information regarding several key story points, and paper-thin characterisation ultimately makes it difficult to recommend. Fans of small, independent horror productions such as "The Blair Witch Project", "Bug" and (in my opinion) the inferior "Paranormal Activity" will most likely enjoy this movie, despite its flaws, and owe it to themselves to take a look in order to make up their own minds. All others should probably tread carefully here, as the decidedly average script and the previously mentioned pacing issues may not compensate for the occasional jump scare in a darkened room when something with half a face appears in a sliver of light.