Neon
I watch a lot of horror films. I am not easily scared or squeamish when it comes to the movies I watch late at night in the dark. Brandon Cronenberg’s newest film Possessor promised blood and haunting moments that would disturb many. I took on the task to watch it late at night with the lights turned off to see what many people were calling one of the bloodiest films they have ever seen.
Cronenberg’s body horror film is set in the future where high paid assassins are able to inhabit other people’s minds using brain implant technology. Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough) enters the mind of Colin Tate (Christopher Abbott) to assassinate people close to him. As Tasya gets closer to ending her mission, Colin fights back to gain control of his body.
Brandon Cronenberg has only directed one other film, Antiviral, which was released in 2012. Cronenberg is a big name in the horror genre though, as his father David Cronenberg has directed some of the most disturbing movies of all time. Brandon is adapting a style that is similar to his father’s by pushing the boundaries of gore. Possessor is the goriest film I have seen this year with many moments that made me turn my head. It isn’t the bloodiest film I have seen though, but what was offered truly disturbed me. Many times, in horror films I question if the blood and violence serve a purpose or is it there just to be there. In Possessor’s case, the blood adds to the plot and helps set it apart from films that feel similar to this.
Tasya is hired to kill someone close to Colin and stops at nothing to make that happen. She has to make it believable and that is where the bloody sequences come into play. In order to end her mission, she has to kill Colin, while in his body, but that is the hardest kill for her since he starts to fight back. The struggle between them was the strongest part of the film since we are often wondering who is who and what is Tasya’s or Colin’s doing.
Christopher Abbott has a daunting task within the film and that is to play two different characters. It is easy to forget that Tasya has taken over Colin’s mind since most of the film focuses on Colin, his relationship with his girlfriend and her father. The little smirks, head movements, and posture all remind us that Tasya is there, fulling her mission. There are also moments where Colin is taking control of the body and his personalities were overshadowing Tasya and that inner struggle propelled the visuals and acting to a level much darker than other films.
Cronenberg brings a techno style of directing to the film that provides a lot of flashy visuals. As Tasya and Colin are battling for the control of the body, the film splits their bodies and pulls them in different directions. Scenes like that are disturbing but the quickness of it paired with the techno style of music makes for something hard not to watch. His style of filmmaking feels similar to his father’s; must be a family thing.
Possessor will be one of the films that is talked about for years to come. The blood, the techno style of directing, and the fact that he is the son of David Cronenberg, will be brought up with every conversation of this film. With many films not coming out this year, this should be one you check out but if you are easily frightened by blood, skip it please. You have been warned!
Possessor has a run time of 1 hour 43 minutes and is not rated.
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