Possessor: What a Film!

Monday is Movies

Possessor belongs to that dark and wonderful strain of film – the science fiction psychological horror. And director/writer Brandon Cronenberg is royalty within that genre. He’s been bubbling away under his own steam across the last decade. Anything he has grabbed from his father he has gone on to make his own. But hallmarks are certainly unmistakeable.

Possessor, though, beats with a savage heart. A bleak journey of a film that is unforgettable regardless of whether you ‘like’ it. I loved it, by the way. I should say that now. But I feel it’s the sort of film that etches itself across the mind to all but the most distracted and disengaged of viewers.

It’s an alternate reality (of course!) and Andrea Riseborough plays assassin Tasya Vos. She is able to use tech implants to install herself in the brain of the host she wishes to kill. In control of their bodies she then is able to insert her own consciousness into their minds and exits after the kill – a “suicide” – returning to the humdrum of her own existence: Loveless marriage, cosplaying a “normal” life.

It’s a brilliant, and intriguing set-up. And there’s strong support cast (Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sean Bean, Christopher Abbott). But of course this is dystopia. So things go awry. Inside the body of a man she must kill, he wrestles with her in the battle of consciousness and stabs himself in an attempt to gain control. He then hunts down her family.

To say any more is to go far beyond the back of the DVD cover.

But that should let you know if this is for you or not. Well, it’s worth mentioning that this is all manner of dark. That it’s very grisly. That this is in fact grim as all fuck.

If I could think of a downside, I’d add that too.

I loved this move. I felt like it was an extension of the early and best David Cronenberg work in so many ways. But that – as with Joe Hill vs Stephen King – this is a case of the son taking on some of the best traits of the father’s pioneering work but making the story entirely his own.

I reckon Possessor is a must-watch. Good to see it finally on DVD in New Zealand. I say, DVD - I rented it from Aro Video because they’re very nearly on my doorstep and because I love the video store exprience while it’s still around. They also have their on demand streaming service for anyone not in their neighbourhood and/or they do a range of services including posting DVDs around the country for members as part of certain deals. Yay!

And I’m getting to this film just now because I only recently watched it. But it’s one I’ve been waiting for. Of all the movies I’ve watched in the last month or so this one haunts me somewhat, stays with me. I don’t know that I ever need to see it again - but I mean that in the very best possible way.