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This was supposed to be a big year for horror films. By this point in 2020, we were expecting to have already seen Halloween Kills, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and Nia DaCosta’s Candyman. Instead, we’ve been reliant on the successful horror films from the beginning of the year, like The Invisible Man, or pleasant VOD surprises on Shudder and Netflix like Host, La Llorona, and The Babysitter: Killer Queen.
In January at the Sundance Film Festival, Brandon Cronenberg, son of horror mastermind David Cronenberg (The Fly, The Dead Zone), released Possessor, his follow-up to the creepy viral 2012 horror film Antiviral. With a select theater and VOD release on October 2nd, Possessor proves to be among the best of horror and sci-fi in a strange year.
Possessor follows Tasya Vos, played by Andrea Riseborough (Mandy), a corporate special agent who uses brain implants to transfer her consciousness into other people in order to carry out assassinations at the company’s request. Although she struggles to suppress violent memories from her missions, she’s proven countless times that she’s right for the job. When the company sends her on her most important mission to date, her mental anguish causes her to lose control while inhabiting her host, endangering the mission and putting her mind and life at risk.
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The acting in Possessor is phenomenal. Riseborough portrays Tasya as a cold and obedient agent, perfect for espionage and the role. Her eyes are empty, and her reactions are distant. Her boss Girder, a former agent and Tasya’s mentor, is played by Academy Award-nominated Jennifer Jason Leigh. Girder expresses concern from the beginning, knowing how much a toll the process can take on the agent, and is with Tasya every step of the way. We also get great performances from Christopher Abbott, Tuppence Middleton, and Sean Bean. Abbott especially shines, considering for much of the movie he is portraying his and Tasya’s minds as they fight over the same body. Having to act within acting is never easily accomplished, and all the actors do a superb job.
Like his father, Brandon Cronenberg has a gift when it comes to filmmaking. The camera work and lighting are stellar, dazzling us with wonderful transitions of color and focusing on reds, yellows, and blues. Full-color scenes with blurred camera effects are downright scary, especially when you add in the creepy practical effects and makeup. Some of these scenes signify mind-melding between the characters and, as the audience, you feel like you’re experiencing it first-hand. I should also point out that, also like his father, Cronenberg very much highlights the use of practical gore. Possessor isn’t for the light-hearted when it comes to the uncomfortably gory moments. Without giving away too much, there may be some Lucio Fulci inspiration here. The entire film is amplified by Jim Williams’ haunting score. Ominous synth and dissonant chords somehow created both feelings of safety and anxiety from scene to scene. I was both comfortable and terrified.
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Sometimes, the simplicity of a story can be extremely effective depending on all the things surrounding it. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is incredible and probably my favorite MCU film, but at its core is just a cut-and-dried espionage film. The characters, music, action, effects, and all the nuts and bolts elevate it from being any old spy film to something great, and I very much feel the same with Possessor, with it also being an espionage film at its core. All those other things make it feel completely different, and extremely unique.
Although at first glance, the film seems like it would be a slow burn (especially if you’re familiar with Antiviral), but it really isn’t. The run-time is only 104 minutes, and everything is laid out to the audience at the start, in a shocking manner. The ending of the film gives us the closure we’re looking for, and doesn’t leave us with any unanswered questions, even if they aren’t the answers we may want.
My only caveat is that, again, Possessor isn’t for everyone. It isn’t straight horror, and it’s dreadfully grim. Regardless, I do think if Brandon Cronenberg’s work is what we have to look forward to in the horror genre, we’re in great hands. I love the genre-blend, I am incredibly excited to see more from the director, and I can recommend fans of both horror and sci-fi to check it out!
Possessor released in select theaters on October 2nd, 2020.
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