3 star gory but unremarkable horror anthology.
The 100 Candles Game: The Last Possession is a 2024 horror sequel to the 2020 film The 100 Candles Game. It is written by Camilo Zaffora (1978, The Last Boy on Earth) and with a framing story “The Last Possession” directed by Guillermo Lockhart who directed a segment in the original film and Carlos Goitia. It is not necessary to have watched the first film prior to watching this.
It available to stream on UK Digital Platforms from 13th January 2025, courtesy of 101 Films.
“After escaping, the creature took refuge in this very forest and was never seen again. And that is just one of the many horrifying stories that happened in this area. Stay tuned.”
Unusually, the film opens with a segment, Arcana (directed by Jeronimo Rocha), which shows us a witch chained up in a room preparing her escape by extremely grim means. We then encounter the protagonists of our framing story, starting with Dylan (Nacho Francavilla – From Within), an influencer who is live streaming the story for his followers.
He is accompanied by Cheryl (Justine Ceballos – Witch) and Amber (Josefina Fariña), fellow social media influencers, as well as their photography “specialist” Koji (Zhon Li). Together, they have headed to Stonewall Mansion, reputedly one of the most chilling places in the world. Here they are to play the ancient Japanese game of Hyakumonogatari, the 100 Candles Game.
They light 100 candles in the shape of a pentagram and then take it in turns to tell a scary story and extinguish a candle each time, in front of a mirror. This must be done in another room and it is believed that doing so will summon the spirits of the dead. These stories are the segments, which include a short zombie film, a cautionary tale about a subway and most importantly the story of the mansion’s notorious previous inhabitant, Lady Anne (Magui Bravi – Bloody Mary). She fell in love with her maid Clementine (Pachi Lucas – Saint Catherine) and forced her to play the 100 Candles Game, with devastating results. Can our intrepid social media stars avoid the same fate?
“Check this out. The Stonewall Mansion is listed in The Lonely Planet Guide as one of the most chilling spots in the world.”
The 100 Candles Game: The Last Possession is not a bad film, there is certainly plenty of horror in there, lots of gore and some scary (if cliched) moments. It is fairly standard fayre and it feels like the lack of experience of everyone concerned comes through, from writing and directing right through to the acting.
It is also noticeable that with the exception of the framing story, these are not segments made for the purposes of this film, just a collection of short films cobbled together. This is probably why they work despite the lack of character development. Unlike the framing story which has so little time devoted to it that all we are sure about is that these young people are all really irritating. The ending hints at another sequel, so perhaps they still have a few more shorts in storage.
If you enjoy an anthology and haven’t already seen the included short films then this one will be worth a watch.
“We’re telling 100 horror stories tonight. After finishing each one, a candle must be extinguished in front of a mirror.”
The 100 Candles Game: The Last Possession is available now on UK Digital Platforms.
| Director | Guillermo Lockhart |
| Genre | Horror |
| Starring | Nacho Francavilla, Justine Ceballos, Josefina Fariña, Zhon Li |