Possessor, a film by Brandon Cronenberg. Yes, that Cronenberg, the son of David Cronenberg.
Possessor is a feature that deals with possession in a form you're not used to. The isn't the demon type of possession but much more sinister. A company is contracted to possess a human being. For what purpose? Whatever the client wishes. In this case they want to possess the future son-in-law of a business mogul.
David Cronenberg is well known at least in his early film output for horror and more specifically body horror. The notion of the invasion from within can be that of nightmares. Brandon Cronenberg continues in the same tradition that caught my eye in his initial 2012 film titled Antiviral. I find very few things more disturbing than the potential mutation or aberrations of the human body.
I watched the unrated cut of this film. As for the unrated classification I can only assume it was because of the male frontal nudity. This is the big taboo in North American cinema. Violence and gore is acceptable yet the human body and especially the male human body is a big no no.
The possessor is a woman who has been doing this vocation for some time. Their contract as previously mentioned is to infiltrate the life of a person of another. Sean Bean plays the father in law especially well in his limited screen time. Always seemingly cast as the villain with great appeal.
Those familiar with David Cronenberg will immediately notice Jennifer Jason Leigh as the handler of the protagonist possessor. Flashbacks of Existenz will be in your mind with her casting.
Lee is helping Tasya Vos the possessor in her mission throughout the film. The script is flipped and the possessor becomes the possessee.
Memories of Blade Runner are evoked when the job is done and the possessor is being tested to determine their state of mind. Similar with the totem imagery in Inception. Great stuff.
This film is not for the faint hearted and mass appeal will not be attained with this work. This has never been the case with Brandon Cronenberg's film output. Twist and turns abound throughout. Who is control of whom? Thoroughly enjoyable and certainly recommended for those in a certain mindset.
I agree with the critics on this one but certainly not on their glowing numbers. 75% for me with some interesting scifi concepts.
93% Critics Rating 59% Audience Rating
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