Possession, 1981.
Directed by Andrzej Zulawski.
Starring Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Margit Carstensen, Heinz Bennent and Shaun Lawton.
SYNOPSIS:
After asking for a divorce from her husband, a woman starts to manifest some bizarre and very sinister symptoms.
Marc (Sam Neill) and Anna (Isabelle Adjani) are a married couple going through some problems, namely that Anna wants a divorce but won’t give Marc a good reason why. She reveals she is having an affair with Heinrich (Heinz Bennent), but after violently confronting Heinrich Marc discovers that Anna may have another lover so he hires a private detective to follow her, and in doing so uncovers something that will push his sanity, and even his existence, to the very edge.
Initially banned by the BBFC upon release, Possession is a horror movie unlike any other, its metaphorical and surreal imagery combining with emotionally fraught performances from its two leads to create a moody melodrama that the word ‘horror’ does not feel adequate enough to describe. Once you get past the arthouse aesthetics and the (deliberately) overly-dramatic line delivery from Sam Neill – which comes across as a little comical in isolation, but when put into context with everything else going on fits perfectly – and take into consideration that director Andrzej Zulawski was going through his own emotional turmoil at the time due to a divorce, then Possession transcends the horror genre into something else, becoming a highly personal interpretation of loss and betrayal that will ring true if you have ever been through such a situation yourself.
But despite the lofty arthouse stylistics, Possession is still a horror movie and there is plenty of horrific content, despite it not actually containing a possession in the accepted movie language sense of the word. At the centre of Anna’s psychosis is what appears to be a physical manifestation of her betrayal, a creature of guilt and idealism made flesh that can give her what she wants – and what Marc, and even Heinrich, can’t – which gives the movie another edge as the idea of the perfect relationship is represented by doppelgangers, riffing off Invasion of the Body Snatchers but with a Lovecraftian bent rather than B-movie sci-fi. The central scene, where Anna suffers a miscarriage in the Berlin underground, is where the movie shifts from off-kilter relationship drama to something darker and more profound, highlighting that she is not only disengaging from Marc but also from herself and – eventually – humanity itself.
Presented in 4K UHD for the first time in the UK, Second Sight continue to go the extra mile in terms of content, with this 3-disc box set containing the movie and all the special features on UHD and across two standard Blu-rays. This set contains all of the special features from their previous 2013 Blu-ray release – including audio commentaries by director Andrzej Zulawski and co-writer Frederic Tuten, a making-of documentary, an interview with Andrzej Zulawski, a comparison between the original 1981 Director’s Cut and the 1983 US Re-edit version, interviews with composer Andrzej Korzynski and producer Christian Ferry, a featurette about poster artist Basha and a look at the Berlin shooting locations – plus a new video essay by critic Kat Ellinger, an appreciation by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and two new audio commentaries, one by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Alison Taylor and for the included US Re-edit you get one by Daniel Bird and Manuela Lazic.
Add to that a 220-page book featuring new essays, posters, interviews and photos, art cards, a reproduction of the original shooting script and a gorgeous rigid slipcase to hold it all in and this definitive edition of Possession is certainly a cult movie collector’s dream.
Despite the new 4K restoration, Possession has never been a colourful or vibrant movie to look at, thanks to the oppressive East German setting and the cold colour scheme, but the image is clear with a consistent level of grain, and certainly a lot sharper than the previous Blu-ray. However, when the colours go from cold blues to deep reds, the UHD properly comes to life and Carlo Rambaldi’s creature effects look very impressive (even if you can see a couple of wires here and there, but only if you look for them!).
Nearly 45 years after it was originally released, Possession continues to have an effect. It isn’t a pleasant movie to watch – in fact, one could say it is a deeply unpleasant movie even before the monster shows up, thanks to themes of mental and physical spousal abuse rearing their ugly heads – but that is the point, with Andrzej Zulawski intent on not making his movie an easy watch from the very first frame until the last. But if you can accept the fact that Possession is not meant for mainstream consumption and adjust your expectations accordingly, then it is one of the most rewarding cinematic experiences in the cult movie Ven diagram as it covers most bases, and when it comes packaged with this much care and attention then picking one up for your collection is a no-brainer.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
