Possession (1981)

Since I began reviewing horror movies and discussing older horror films, one title kept surfacing again and again: Possession.

And so, of course, I had to see it.

Thank you to my friend and patron, Havolier, for making this viewing possible.

Slow Burn and Madness

While I enjoyed this movie and appreciate its set up, it is a slow burn and for that I don’t think its going to sit well with every horror fan. I warned my partner already that, despite the fact I think there are parts of this movie he will love and that he is interested in watching it after seeing my reaction, he will likely hate the first hour of it. Yes, it takes an hour to get to the horror. In fact, if I had not heard that this movie contains gore, body horror, and tentacle creatures, I might have wondered if I’d somehow been tricked into seeing a strange divorce drama billed as horror. It is worth sitting through the first part for the rest though. I can’t imagine this movie without that build up.

If asked from here on what movie I think best encapsulates Eldritch horror, I will say Possession. No, not for the tentacle creature, which I will get to, but for the portrayal of madness.

Possession is the best example of characters losing their minds I have ever seen. Sam Neill did well in “In the Mouth of Madness” but didn’t come close to touching his role as Mark. It truly felt like we were watching people lose their minds on screen.

The infamous subway scene where Anna “miscarries” what she calls Sister Faith is so visceral and uncomfortable and perfect. Earlier scenes of her and Mark breaking down were also wonderful. However, in this scene we have already glimpsed the monster and the horrors she has committed. We can now fully appreciate what is breaking inside of her. Prior boughts of panic and madness could be the heart-wrenching horror of lovers being torn apart while still clinging to each other. Sure, that’s awful but not as mind-tearing as the “miscarriage.” There were only 2 takes of this scene and that they used the 1st almost entirely. Mind blown.

Blood and Tentacles

The special effects in this movie were wonderful. Lots of fake blood, ooze, realistic wounds, tentacle monsters, and more. I admit, I’m a lover of fake blood everywhere and Possession, in the end, did not hold back. The special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi won Oscars for his work on King Kong, the Xenomorph head from Alien, and the expressive alien in E.T. You can see how gorgeous his work is in Possession. I recommend this movie for that alone if you are an Fx connoisseur.

The creature in Possession had very little screen time but what time we did see it was effective. It wasn’t scary in that you were worried it would come after you. It was the way it lingered in your head, impressing its will on those around it – specifically Anna but others as well.

And we can hardly discuss it without mentioning the sex scene. While earlier the movie suggests sex has occurred or is about to, the one sex scene we get in Possession is between Anna and the creature. It is graphic without feeling pornographic. The audience knows Anna has been having sex with this thing and now that we see it actually happening, I think we all sort of feel the same way Mark does – weirdly in awe and anticipating something awful to come from the deed.

Many critics suggest that the tentacle creature is not physically real but a manifestation of Anna’s psychosis. I don’t agree. 1. how boring and 2. it would be a stretch considering the creature was seen by other characters. If it is only in Anna’s head, it wasn’t portrayed very well in the movie that this is the case. There are plenty of other metaphors available in the film to wax philosophical about.

Behind the Scenes

Zulawski’s divorce with actress, Marlgorzata Braunek as well as the Cold War dividing Berlin heavily influenced the film. Then there was Zulawski’s own divorce from his home country of Poland where his work was villainized and banned. All of this heavily effected the bleakness not only of the story but also the imagery.

More interesting perhaps, and certainly more disturbing, is the effect the movie had on the actors. Isabelle Adjani attempted suicide shortly after filming the role of Anna. Sam Neill commented in a BBC interview, “I call it the most extreme film I’ve ever made, in every possible respect, and he asked of us things I wouldn’t and couldn’t go to now. And I think I only just escaped that film with my sanity barely intact.”

UK Film Censors banned Possession when it came out and the US only allowed a highly edited version which resulted in poor reviews. It wasn’t until later, arguably when audiences saw the full film, that it became a cult classic and developed its high regard among sect horror fans.

When I told my partner about what went down with the direct and after the movie, he asked me if this didn’t remind me of La Fin Absolut Du Monde – the film in Cigarette Burns (one of our favorite horror movies). In a lot of ways, yes. Its like Possession is a movie that drives people mad. Its madness makes it one of the best horror movies made.

Final Signal

Possession is a movie that feels dangerous — not because it will scare you, but because it might stay with you longer than you want.

Highly recommended for fans of art horror, slow burns, and films that feel like they might ruin you a little.