On paper, Karem the Possession is the sort of movie critics sharpen their knives for: long-delayed, loosely based on a “real case,” released at the tail end of the year, and promptly dragged for its direction, acting, and plot. And yet, if you squint past the rough edges (and maybe accept that subtlety has left the chat), what you get is a gloriously chaotic, melodramatic Catholic-demon soap opera with enough unhinged energy to be downright entertaining.
Is it polished? Absolutely not. Is it fun if you lean into it? Oh, very much yes.
A Demon Walks into an Atheist Household
One of the movie’s best ideas is baked into its setup: a staunchly atheist family, the Briseños, moves from the U.S. to a supposedly haunted manor in Durango in 1984. Immediately, we know two things:
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The house is obviously demon-infested.
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The dad, Abraham, will dismiss everything with the confidence of a man who hasn’t met a third act yet.
This isn’t just your standard “dysfunctional family + ghost.” It’s a clash of belief systems: an atheist patriarch, a haunted house with a body count, a priest who’s actually right for once, and a demon who does not care what your worldview is. Naro, the entity in question, basically treats religious debate like a sports game: fun background noise while he ruins everyone’s life.
And then there’s Karem, the youngest daughter. She’s shy, bullied for her “atheist philosophy” at school, and lonely enough that when something starts writing back in her diary, she doesn’t go, “Oh no, demonic interference,” she goes, “Finally, a friend.” Relatable, but in the worst possible way.
Demon Pen Pals and Telekinetic Revenge
Karem’s communication with the demon Naro is actually one of the more interesting—and entertaining—parts of the film. He:
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Talks to her via her diary
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Knows everything about her bullies
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Grants her psychic powers like it’s a buy-one-get-one deal: telekinesis plus personality overhaul
The moment she gets her powers, Karem’s arc goes from timid wallflower to “what if Carrie had Wi-Fi and a demon coach.” She doesn’t just stand up for herself; she escalates straight to murder. This is not a movie about learning healthy coping mechanisms. This is a movie where a girl gets bullied and the supernatural response is, “Cool, let’s regurgitate blood and paper and see where the day takes us.”
The classroom scene where Karem annihilates her bullies with her powers and takes a swing at her teacher Clarissa is completely un-subtle and kind of glorious. It plays like an overcaffeinated telenovela crossed with a Catholic school safety video. If you’re here for nuanced psychological horror, this is not it. If you’re here for “bullies learn the hard way not to mess with demon-backed teens,” you’re in the right theater.
The Priest, the Skeptic, and the Carbonized Boy
Every possession film needs at least three stock characters:
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The priest who knows more than anyone wants to hear
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The parent who refuses to believe until it’s far too late
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The body count
Karem the Possession delivers all three with gusto.
Father Miguel is the classic determined priest archetype: earnest, suspicious, and just religious enough to see what others can’t. He digs into the manor’s past, uncovers that Naro once did a similar “youngest child + powers + mass murder” combo, and desperately tries to warn the Briseños. Abraham, being an atheist dad in a horror movie, dismisses all this like it’s unsolicited spam. It goes about as well as you’d imagine.
When Naro finally manifests as a carbonized boy, it’s one of those moments where the movie’s low-budget charm shines through. It’s creepy, yes, but also has that slightly rubbery, uncanny energy that belongs to true genre cinema: you can seethe ambition straining against the budget, and it’s kind of endearing.
By the time the Cardinal and a full priest squad roll up, you know things are not going to resolve with a firm talk and some holy water. What happens instead is a kind of supernatural demolition derby: Eduardo gets his arms ripped off mid-exorcism, Mariana dies, Abraham gets demon-puppeted, and priests drop like flies. It’s not refined horror—it’s chaos with a crucifix.
Family Drama, But Add a Demon
Where the film accidentally becomes interesting—and even thematically sharp—is in its handling of the Briseño family:
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Karem is lonely, furious, and completely unprotected emotionally.
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Laura, the eldest sister, becomes a victim of possession herself, forced to kill Clarissa and then left to rot in jail.
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Eduardo is weaponized as a meat puppet against the priests.
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Mariana, the mother, is the emotionally attuned one, and therefore doomed.
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Abraham clings to his disbelief until it obliterates everything he was trying to rationalize.
Underneath the shouting, CGI, and melodrama, there’s a surprisingly bleak core: a family structurally unable to cope with their child’s pain, torn apart because the one person Karem could rely on is an entity who wants everyone dead.
The film doesn’t explore this with subtlety—it screams it at you, then throws someone through a wall—but the bones of a strong tragic story are there.
The Church as Cleanup Crew
After the carnage, the church moves into damage-control mode like a supernatural PR department:
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They cover up the entire incident.
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They take Karem into custody.
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They lock away her diary in a vault, because nothing could possibly go wrong with that plan.
Then, in a mid-credits twist, Karem is lobotomized by a nun, presumably to remove her as a usable vessel for Naro and strip her of her psychic abilities. The horror here goes from supernatural to institutional, and it’s quietly one of the darkest ideas in the film: when in doubt, break the girl so she can’t break the world.
Of course, because demons are petty and persistent, Naro simply slides into Laura’s DMs in prison. She smiles reading his message. Fade out. Evil, as usual, does not care about your containment strategy.
Lo-Fi Exorcism, Hi-Fi Trashy Fun
Let’s be honest: this is not a “great” movie in the classical sense.
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The direction is uneven.
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The performances range from decent to “is this a rehearsal?”
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The script drops exposition bricks like it’s trying to build a wall out of Latin phrases and tragic backstories.
But if you approach Karem the Possession as modern Mexican pulp horror rather than a prestige exorcism drama, it’s surprisingly enjoyable. It has:
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Big, messy emotional swings
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Inventive kill beats
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A demon who’s basically an evil life coach
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A genuinely bleak ending that doesn’t pretend everything is okay
And the final creepy touch—the “real” Briseño family photo with Karem’s Latin phrase about how it doesn’t matter what you want because “he” likes her—lands like a nasty little aftershock. It’s exploitative? Sure. It’s also exactly the kind of detail that makes this kind of possession movie stick in your brain.
Final Verdict: Possessed, But Make It Entertaining
Karem the Possession is not the sophisticated horror the subject matter could’ve supported. But it is a loud, over-the-top, oddly compelling story about a lonely girl, an arrogant father, a desperate priest, and a demon who grants wishes like a Satanic fairy godmother with anger issues.
If you like your horror:
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Dramatic instead of delicate
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Cathartic instead of classy
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And you don’t mind some rough edges on your demonic carnage
…then this one is worth a watch, preferably late at night, with low expectations and a high tolerance for chaos.
And if your diary ever starts writing back? Maybe don’t answer. Or at least don’t ask for telekinesis.
