Possessor

In this film, set in the near future, brain implant technology allows one person to inhabit the mind, body, and spirit of another. A clandestine corporation uses this technology to assassinate wealthy and powerful people for profit. The film explores what happens when the host starts to fight to regain control from a guest who is not entirely mentally stable, to begin with.

Interesting enough premise. The film is set in a very bleak version of the future where cities appear to be sparsely populated (perhaps from some event that greatly reduced the population such as plague or war; a motif borrowed from Argento's Tenebre). The film relies heavily on psychotropic imagery, and this adds to the overall frightening and confusing atmosphere since most of this imagery is nightmarish (distorted faces reminiscent of David Cronenberg's The Brood, warped colors, bursts of sound and images, blurs, rapid-fire images and strobing flashes of light). The film further relies on ultra-violence as a motif that rivals even the Italian slasher films of the late 1970s and early 80s (such as Susperia, Tenembre, Opera, etc.). Possessor contains explicit sexual motifs including full male nudity and erect penises, which reminds me very much of Antichrist (2009) or The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). These are juxtaposed with explicit imagery of knives penetrating flesh. All of this results in a nightmare landscape. The ending is purposely left confusing so that that the viewer can arrive at their own conclusions. For some viewers, this will be frustrating.

All of this wraps up into a very worthwhile enough film, but for viewers with a more sophisticated palate (if you are looking for a Blumhouse type film Possessor is not what you are looking for). It is disturbing to be sure. However, it is very well made and anchored by two very outstanding performances from Andrea Riseborough and Christopher Abbott. It also features Jennifer Jason Leigh and Sean Bean in very laudable supporting roles (whether or not Sean Bean dies I will not spoil). Possessor is a "Criterion Collection" caliber film that will give the viewer some satisfaction analyzing and will with you long after you see it.

The incipit is really good: an agency that perform contract killings, use a very innovative technology that implants a device on the brain of a designated target that allows to the killer to remotely wire. Therefore the person is replaced, his free will is canceled and the killer is then able to complete the assignment, without being directly involved. The concept is really good, but the movie has a lot of issues.

The movie has an ethereal kind of narration, which is a good choice, considering the main theme, but the pace is too slow. The director, which is also the main screenwriter, wanted to experiment, by creating strange effects and applying weird sound design and music, which I personally appreciated, but the story is not going on. There are a lot of stuff that are not explained: we never know what this agency is, why it exists, is it some kind of secret government project? Who are these agents? Why they are doing what they are doing? Do they receive a special training? Because none of this is clarified, I did not care about the context nor characters, I could not bound with them. The main character, Tasya Vos, played by Andrea Riseborough, has clearly some personal issue with the ex fiancée, or maybe husband, I don't get to know, but why her relationship is broken? What happened? Is it because of her job? You see how many questions I am writing in this review? There tons of plot holes.

After an interesting and involving intro, the screenplay starts to crumble. I have understood that the director wanted to keep a mistery-vibe, but you cannot keep your audience completely blind for the entire movie. There was a lot of potential, but it was wasted, because the director decided to play too much with visual effects, instead on focusing more on the story.

Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough) is the Possessor. She's a corporate assassin who uses a brain implant to take over other people to do the killing. Her boss is Girder (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Her next take-over target is Colin Tate (Christopher Abbott) who is dating Ava Parse (Tuppence Middleton), the daughter of tech tycoon John Parse (Sean Bean).

This is a Brandon Cronenberg film. It has his father penchant for blood. It's a fine sci-fi flick with a dash of style. The filming does need something more. I can't quite put my finger on it. It has style but it needs more. It has moments of intensity but it needs more. It has ideas about control and self-identity. I'm not completely bought into the character Tasya. I don't know who she is and quite frankly, she may not know herself. That would have been an interesting idea if it's clearer about being murky. All in all, this is more interesting than not. There are enough in here worthy of the Cronenberg name.

With its good performances, excellent visual design, and all the blood and gore you could ask for, Brandon Cronenberg's 'Possessor' is a thrilling, engaging experience that succeeds in getting under your skin.

Immensely disturbing, shocking and provocative; "Possessor" takes you on a wild ride while playing with your mind.

In this science-fiction horror film, an agent working for a secretive organization uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people's bodies, driving them to commit assassinations for high-paying clients.

It goes without saying that Cronenberg is heavily influenced by the earlier films his father made but I also couldn't help but think of John Frankenheimer's "Seconds"while watching this. You can see where Cronenberg wants to play with sci-fi, horror and even reality. It's a daring vision and one you won't soon forget (if you have the stomach for it). Christopher Abbott is haunting in the lead role and Andrea Riseborough delivers a solidly chilling performance. It's a scary-ass film and I'm telling you there are visuals in "Possessor" that will haunt you for days, but I recommend you see it.

Follow @snobmedia for all reviews!