When Brandon Cronenberg burst onto the film scene with his first feature Antiviral in 2012, people questioned whether he would go down the same route as his famous father, David. With his new film Possessor, it certainly embodies his father's work and sets a clear precedent of what to expect from the Canadian filmmaker. Possessor explores the story of Vos (Andrea Riseborough), a hired assassin that uses state of the art brain technology to embody different people to execute high profile targets. When exposed to her new body, Vos starts to experience difficulties in keeping control of her actions and most importantly, not allowing her host body to overpower her.
Just by looking at the poster for Possessor, you know that the film is going to take many weird turns and most likely, freak you out. This is definitely a film that hasn't been seen before. The clever use of brain technology to assassinate targets is executed brilliantly and in an inventive way. There are many moments throughout the film that leaves you wincing in horror or disgust as Cronenberg doesn't hold back on the gore or violence. But it's definitely welcomed as the violence and gore perfectly encapsulate the breakdown of Vos's personality and inability to control her actions as the film progresses.
Normally when a film relies heavily on its action or exposure to blood and gore, the story itself generally suffers. What this film benefits from is a strong screenplay by Brandon Cronenberg. Possessor slowly opens the window for us to peek into the psyche of our two main characters Vos and Colin to get a brief understanding of their actions. With that slight understanding of them, the film allows different interpretations for the audience to decide whether Vos is a good person or not.
Superbly directed by Cronenberg, his new Sci-Fi/Horror shocks you to the core and creates an imaginative new story that is fascinating and shocking at the same time. Possessor joins other great movies that fall under the same category of late such as Upgrade and Get Out. If you're a fan of those types of films, then this is definitely the film for you.
Dir: Brandon Cronenberg
Scr: Brandon Cronenberg
Cast: Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbott, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Prd: Fraser Ash, Niv Fichman, Kevin Krikst, Andrew Starke
DoP: Karim Hussain
Music: Jim Williams
Country: Canada
Year: 2020
Runtime: 103 mins
Signature Entertainment presents Possessor on digital HD 1 February and Blu-ray & DVD 8 February
