Buckle up! For Episode 073, Horror Movie Weekly tackles a very sober film that features real-life Horror. Your hosts, Jay of the Dead, Channy Dreadful and Mister Watson review the Horror documentary Belief: The Possession of Janet Moses (2016). In order to discuss this film, we had to cover full-blown spoilers. So, we hope you will watch the film on Netflix or Amazon, listen to this episode, and then share your thoughts on these controversial events! You’re always welcome to call and leave us a voicemail at (801) 215-9704. Join us!
Note: This episode was recorded on January 3, 2021 and released on January 17, 2021.
This weekly Horror movie podcast brings you one recent Horror movie review every Sunday. (We’re defining “recent” as any Horror movie released within the last five years, so now that it’s 2021, we’ll be covering Horror films from 2016 to the present.) And we always reveal next week’s pick at the end of every show, so you can watch along with us and be prepared for the following episode. Join us, and thanks for listening!
SHOW NOTES:
Introduction
— Welcome to Horror Movie Weekly Episode 073
— Mister Watson appreciates Horror Movie Weekly emeritus co-hosts BillChete and Lady Phantom
— Hear BillChete and Lady Phantom’s final episode — The Top 10 Horror Movies of 2020
— Hear BillChete and Lady Phantom on Movies in 4K
— More about Channy Dreadful’s Instagram: Strawberry Crush Creations
— Jay’s daugher’s favorite artistic YouTuber: Moriah Elizabeth
— Winner of FREE DVD for “Inside” (2007): Ash to Ashes from Kill the Dead Horror Podcast
MICRO REVIEWS
Mister Watson: Maniac (2012) = 9 ( Buy it! )
Jay of the Dead: The Decline (2020) = 8 ( Stream on Netflix! )
– Jay of the Dead’s pick for this week: Belief: The Possession of Janet Moses (2016)
[ 00:16:23 ] – Feature Review: Belief: The Possession of Janet Moses (2016) [SPOILER REVIEW]
Genre Classification: Documentary / Drama / Horror
Premise:
In 2007, a close-knit, well-meaning family in New Zealand firmly believed that one of their family members, Janet Moses, was possessed or cursed by a demon or evil spirit. So, over the course of just under a week, their earnest efforts to perform an exorcism have tragic results.
Ratings and Recommendations: Belief: The Possession of Janet Moses (2016)
Jay of the Dead = 9 ( Must-See / Stream on Netflix / A Buy for Jay )
Channy Dreadful = 6.5 ( Rental )
Mister Watson = 8 ( Rental )
Next on Episode 074: Eli (2019) — Channy Dreadful’s pick
Original podcast theme music: Jay of the Dead
Links for this episode:
Links for Channy Dreadful:
Twitter: @ChannyDreadful
Channy reviews The Haunting on The Resurrection of Zombie 7 horror podcast
Jay recommends Channy’s Article on Cujo
Channy on Hereditary with Ron Martin on The Resurrection of Zombie 7 Podcast
Channy Dreadful Archives on The Resurrection of Zombie 7
Instagram: Strawberry Crush Creations
Links for Mister Watson:
Twitter: @WatZeeParty
Podcast: The Wat-Zee Party Horror Show
Facebook: The Wat-Zee Party Horror Show/Horror Corridor
Jay of the Dead’s other podcasts: ConsideringTheCinema.com
Jay’s HORROR-only content: ConsideringHorrorCinema.com
Jay’s monthly show (all genres): Movie Podcast Weekly.com
— BillChete and Lady Phantom’s other podcast:
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Follow Horror Movie Weekly on Twitter: @horror_weekly
Website: Horror Movie Weekly.com
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A very different kind of movie this time. I’m all in for horror docs! Good discussion here, I liked what each of you had to say about the film. I couldn’t help but notice the current politics parallel in relation to group think mentality, with the events at the Capitol a couple of weeks ago. I wonder if you did as well after recording this episode, since it was recorded before?
It was nice of you to take a moment to acknowledge the previous hosts’ contributions to the podcast- that was some classy business. They were great! It’s clear that you are gonna be awesome contributors as well. Also loving the addition of the micro reviews at the top.
For anyone wanting to check out more horror documentaries, there is a fantastic one titled “Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror” (2019)
Groupthink is something that has utterly fascinated me for years and years, Libby. I’ve had my dealings within various political, religious, and social arenas in my life, and I’ve become somewhat keen at honing in on the elements of groupthink that occur within a particular in-group. It’s easy as can be to point at any number of sociopolitical events that took place within the past year… on all sides… in order to see how these things have been fueled by dangerous collectivist mindsets. Spend too much time watching the news or scrolling through Twitter, and you’ll see a most unfortunate hive mind operating.
Just like in this movie here… these things can start from a well-meaning place, but they might perpetuate something so far removed from the original intention that it’s hard to see how it got so bad… or where things went wrong. This movie really made me think. And so did your comment. 🙂
I will check out Horror Noire. I’ve almost watched it about 20 times! LOL
Great episode, all! Thank you (and indirectly Josh) for introducing me to this documentary. I enjoyed it? Not sure enjoyed is the right word. It fascinated me. However, I had one big problem with it that you all didn’t bring up, so I’d be interested in your opinions. I don’t think the filmmakers did enough to explain Janet’s behavior prior to the exorcism. What exactly made them think she was possessed? She had found out her partner was unfaithful and became depressed, withdrawn, and moody. To me, that seems like a pretty normal reaction. Unless I missed it, I didn’t see any other really odd behaviors documented outside of those relating to the relationship problems. I understand the whole issue is related to misunderstanding mental illness, but hers just didn’t seem so extreme to think possession was a logical next step. I am probably being ignorant of cultural beliefs, but that is all the more reason it was important for the filmmakers to address this more. I feel like excluding it made me more critical of the family than I probably should have been. Thoughts?
Hey, Mike! Just now seeing this comment, as I always forget to check the site here! Apologies, my friend!
It’s been a while since we watched this, but I got the impression that she might have been the unfortunate victim of adult-onset psychosis. Now… you are spot on in wanting the film to address what she was like BEFORE the breakup (and before the psychosis became apparent), because the movie picks up AFTER all of this, right? Man, I had meant to mention this in the review, but I forgot! Dammit!
It would have been nice to get more of a sense of what Janet was like before everything because even without any type of adult-onset psychosis, not everyone takes a breakup well, and some people kinda go nuts for a while afterward, right?
That said… I remember feeling like the possibility of some newly evident mental illness set the stage for her family to jump to a demonic conclusion, and I was fine with that… narratively speaking. When I consider how loosely they operated with regards to both their own cultural beliefs AND when it comes to mental illness and psychology… it’s easy to see how things went as they did.
Awesome comment, man! Thanks so much for listening!