Review: The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014) ★★½

Like most found-footage horror films, The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014) wants us to believe that we are seeing a real documentary in the making. Much like the “filmmakers” in The Tunnel (2011) and dozens of other found-footage films, the documentary goes horribly wrong and leads to terrifying revelations. Surprise, surprise. 

However, The Taking of Deborah Logan takes things in a slightly more interesting direction. The “documentary” element of the story focuses on a seemingly innocent Alzheimer’s patient. As the story progresses, her symptoms become increasingly bizarre and supernatural. Unfortunately, the very thing that makes The Taking of Deborah Logan interesting also turns it into a ridiculous mess by the film’s end. 

Most horror films in the exorcism subgenre claim to be based on a true story. Fortunately, The Taking of Deborah Logan makes no such claims. It is not based on a true story, though the filmmakers try (at first) to make it appear like the account of a real person. Spoiler alert (sort of), Deborah Logan is completely fictional. 

The film begins with a small documentary crew visiting the house of Deborah Logan (Jill Larson), an aging woman suffering from Alzheimer’s. Deborah doesn’t really want to be the subject of a documentary, but her daughter, Sarah (Anne Ramsay), convinces her to go along with it. We learn through whispered conversations that Deborah’s home is on the verge of getting repossessed. According to Sarah, the documentary will provide the funds needed for her mother to keep the house. 

So, the crew of young documentary filmmakers sets up shop at the isolated house. Deborah has one close neighbor, Harris (Ryan Cutrona), who takes an interest in the documentary. Though like Deborah, he becomes increasingly opposed to the crew’s presence on the property. As the crew records Deborah’s day-to-day activities, they realize there’s more at play than a simple case of Alzheimer’s.

At first, Deborah Logan appears relatively well-balanced, with brief lapses in memory. However, the cameras pick up her nightly activities, which include sleep-walking around the house, apparating onto kitchen counters, and suddenly appearing in the crew members’ bedrooms. Though the crew is shaken by these events, they endeavor to continue their film. 

However, when Deborah turns violent, tensions rise among the family and crew. Doctors attempt to explain away the events, with little success. Eventually, the crew uncovers that something evil has taken over Deborah’s mind and body. 

The Taking of Deborah Logan could have easily been called The Exorcism of Deborah Logan. It follows in the same footsteps as almost every exorcism film that came before it. We get brief glimpses of Deborah standing in pitch-black rooms, staring out of windows, and muttering to herself. We hear audio of her speaking in gibberish, demonic languages. Thus, The Taking of Deborah Logan doesn’t cover much new ground.

That said, Jill Larson was perfectly cast for the role of Deborah. In one scene, she seems like the little old lady next door. A few moments later, she’s a demon from your worst nightmares. Her entire performance is excellent, from start to finish. This makes the film’s shortcomings even more disappointing.

Other than Jill Larson, the cast is questionable at best. Anne Ramsay plays Deborah’s daughter. While her character is poorly written, she does a decent job. Ryan Cutrona also works fine as the nosy neighbor. However, The Taking of Deborah Logan really falls flat with its younger cast.

Michelle Ang plays Mia, who serves as the frontwoman, so to speak, of the documentary film. She knows how to talk to a camera, but her performance doesn’t add anything of value. In fact, it’s downright bad at times. While the trailer shows most of the highlights, you can get a feel for the kind of “student acting” vibe the film crew gives off. Maybe they act badly because they’re supposed to be student filmmakers? Who knows.

Unfortunately, Michelle Ang is probably the most talented of the young cast. Brett Gentile overacts his way through the film, providing some truly nauseating one-liners. The third documentary crew member, played by Jeremy DeCarlos, hardly exists in the film. His performance left no impression whatsoever.

I know that it’s tough for indie horror films to get quality actors; It’s even tough for big studio productions. The horror genre has always been at odds with quality acting. That’s part of the reason that I can’t get into found-footage horror. The entire concept behind the subgenre is amplified realism. This realism theoretically pulls the viewer into the story, making them feel as if they’re watching real events. But how can I believe a story when the actors look and sound like they’re reading lines off of cue cards? 

Setting aside some dreadful performances, there’s also the issue of using Alzheimer’s Disease as a selling point for a horror movie. Yes, it helps add a sense of realism to the “documentary” storyline. After all, most of these films simply have a film crew going into a house to observe supernatural events. At least The Taking of Deborah Logan starts off with a plausible premise.

However, as Deborah turns from an Alzheimer’s patient into a demonic host, it kind of takes away from the somber tone set at the beginning of the film. For a while, the story makes it seem as though Alzheimer’s patients are prone to extremely violent outbursts and terrifying behavior. It takes far too long for the filmmakers to explain what’s really going on. As a result, the film borders on the offensive.

In short, The Taking of Deborah Logan is not unwatchable, nor is it worthy of great praise. It is just another found-footage exorcism movie to throw on top of the pile. Jill Larson saves the film from falling into obscurity. Her performance actually helps make the film pretty scary at times. Too bad the young cast and filmmakers botched the rest of it.

Rating: ★★½ out of 5

If you’d like to watch The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014), the movie is currently available to stream via Amazon or Shudder. For more reviews like this one, check out the Philosophy in Film Homepage!