Review of Possessor (2020) by Moviemitch96 — 03 Oct 2020

I saw this one yesterday afternoon, but I'm only now able to review it cause I'm honestly still trying to process everything I witnessed with it. In this rather grotesque film from director Brandon Cronenberg (son of famed body horror director David Cronenberg), a young woman (Andrea Riseborough) who works for a secret company that deals in contact assassinations by using technology that allows a person to possess and take control of people's minds and bodies, finds herself assigned to possess a young man (Christopher Abbott) in order to have him assassinate his wealthy future father-in-law for inheritance purposes.

However, things don't go so smoothly, as she finds his mind trying to fight back against her for control of his body, risking both of their lives and minds. First off, this film is GORY! Any squeamish audience members would do well to steer way clear of this one, as it's quite honestly one of the most violent films I've seen in years and contains some unbelievably brutal killings that will haunt and stick with me for better or worse.

However, the film also happens to be very sleek and stylish, with a cool yet equally eerie futuristic atmosphere throughout. The film rather cleverly blends elements of sci-fi and body horror, and the dark tone and atmosphere adds an unnerving sense of dread and unpredictability whenever blood isn't being shed.

Riseborough and Abbott also deliver powerhouse performances, giving it their all, and Jennifer Jason Leigh is also worth singling out here as Riseborough's boss and the owner of the secretive company.

Like I said, everything on display here is pretty sleek and cool-looking, but I still couldn't help but feel as though the story and its premise could've been fleshed out (pun intended) a little more and I was left with a couple more questions than I would've liked.

The film also seemed to slightly start losing its sense of direction towards the end as things became more and more chaotic, but I can't deny how shook I was by the film's final 5 minutes in more ways than one.

And while the story overall did feel a been there, done that in some ways, the unique (and usually pretty gross) imagery made it stand out well enough, as well as helped it stand apart from other similar sci-fi films and tropes.

Overall, great performances from the cast all across the board, and while I felt as though the story may have been a little shaky at times and could've fulfilled a little more potential, the haunting atmosphere and imagery of it all will undoubtedly stick with me.

.. and I'm still trying to decide whether that's a good thing or not.