‘Possessed’ Disturbs but Lacks Terrifying Edge

Discerning viewers will have a devil of a time sticking with “Possessed,” an overheated scare show based on the unsettling story of good versus evil depicted in “The Exorcist.”

It’s impossible not to draw comparisons between the intense “Exorcist” and the equally disturbing yet heavy-handed and less effective version airing Sunday on Showtime. Where the first inexorably pulled us to the edge of our seats with each harrowing scene, this new production leaves us emotionally adrift.

Timothy Dalton plays Father William Bowdern, a troubled priest who survived the psychological rigors of World War II only to find himself in a furious battle with the satanic force that has infiltrated the body and soul of a freckle-faced, redheaded boy named Robbie (Jonathan Malen) in St. Louis.

After the death of his creepy aunt (Piper Laurie), young Robbie turns into a twisted, blasphemous, vomit-spewing terror who gleefully urinates on those who would help him. The archbishop (Christopher Plummer) approves the exorcism, but only if Bowdern and a colleague (Henry Czerny) can pull it off discreetly, lest the entire archdiocese hear of their highly unorthodox treatment.

It hurts that Malen never persuasively musters the menacing look of pure evil that transfixed us when “The Exorcist’s” Linda Blair was wreaking bloody havoc in her bedroom. Essentially, Malen comes across as a mean little kid, and that’s not enough to distract us from the film’s assortment of familiar and less-than-subtle parlor tricks.

Steven E. de Souza, whose credits range from “Die Hard” to “Street Fighter,” co-writes and directs with plenty of doom and gloom, but minimal suspense and few frights, thereby squandering solid performances by Dalton and Czerny, who at least are sympathetic protagonists.

* “Possessed” can be seen Sunday at 8 p.m. on Showtime. The network has rated it TV-MA (may be unsuitable for children under age 17).