Possessor Blu Ray Review (Well Go USA)
Possessor is a 2020 psychological science fiction/horror film written & directed by Brandon Cronenberg (Antiviral). It was produced by Andrew Starke (Kill List, The ABCs of Death 1/2, Free Fire, & The Greasy Strangler) & Niv Fichman (Antiviral, Hobo with a Shotgun, Enemy, & Citizen Gangster). It’s an international co-production of the United Kingdom, the United States, & Canada. It had it’s world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2020.
In an alternate 2008, a woman named Holly (played by: Gabrielle Graham from Twenties, Lucky Day, On the Basis of Sex, & 21 Thunder) sticks a probe into the top of her head & turns the dial button on a machine. She goes to a party & chaos follows the night. Afterward, a woman named Tasya Vos (played by: Andrea Riseborough from The Grudge, Waco, Mandy, & Oblivion) is removed from a machine. She is a “possessor”: a contract killer whose consciousness is implanted into the body of another person in order to carry out an assassination. Tasya was controlling Holly’s body during her gruesome experience. During a post-assassination debriefing by her boss Girder (played by: Jennifer Jason Leigh from The Hateful Eight, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Hitcher, & Single White Female), Tasya identifies objects of her past to prove that her sense of self is intact. She wants time to reconnect with her estranged husband Michael (played by: Rossif Sutherland from Reign, King, ER, & Dead Before Dawn 3D) & son Ira (played by: Gage Graham-Arbuthnot from Becky & Condor). Tasya’s next job is an ambition mission & it’s very important to her company.
She’s been hired by Reid (played by: Christopher Jacot from Slasher, Eureka, & Battle in Seattle), the stepson of John Parse (played by: Sean Bean from Game of Thrones, The Hitcher, The Lord of the Rings franchise, & Silent Hill). John is the owner of a massive corporation. Reid wants them to assassinate John & his daughter Ava (played by: Tuppence Middleton from Downton Abbey, The Current War, The Imitation Game, & Jupiter Ascending) so that he can take over the company. Girder is excited because, once the job is done, the company will be able to control John’s company via blackmailing Reid. Tasya is instructed to possess Ava’s boyfriend Colin Tate (played by: Christopher Abbott from A Most Violent Year, First Man, It Comes at Night, & The Sinner). Tasya wakes up in Colin’s body & strangely finds herself attracted to Ava. Plus she gets invested in his other relationships like co-worker Eddie (played by: Raoul Bhaneja from Titans & Blindspot) & close friend Reeta (played by: Kaniehtiio Horn from Slasher, Death Wish, & Mohawk). She has trouble finishing this job, her professional life starts mixing with her own personal life. She is stuck in a dangerous situation & must go back to everything before this. Can she escape her past? & Will there be a future now in this brutal world????
2020 has been a crazy year especially for cinema. Most of the major movies of this year were delayed until 2021 so the selection for newer features has been at an all time low when it comes to releases. Possessor stands out from everything that I’ve seen or reviewed so far. This is definitely my personal favorite of 2020 & I don’t see anything else beating it in the next few weeks for the remainder of the year. Antiviral was a very impressive debut but Possessor is even better than that. Brandon Cronenberg definitely reminds me of his legendary father & this one goes into that classic Cronenberg territory when it comes to body horror. The script & visuals really mess with your mind while viewing this. The suspense & thrills are top notch. It keeps your eyes glued to the screen & you never know what’s going to happen next here. This one gets really dark & brutal when it’s finished. The violence & gore are nice addition to this psychological experience. I enjoyed how Cronenberg went old school & practical for most of the fx. You want to revisit it right away because there’s so much more to it to discover on the re-watch so it has extremely high replay value. Andrea Riseborough was amazing in this & gives her best performance so far. I loved her character & the concept. It has a great supporting cast which includes Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sean Bean, Christopher Abbott, Gabrielle Graham, & Tuppence Middleton. Everyone really stepped up their game on this. The look & the sound of Possessor gives it’s own nightmarish atmosphere. This is the best science fiction film that I’ve seen in a long time. Hopefully, Possessor keeps getting the attention it deserves especially with this brand new home video release, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Well Go! This 1080p (1.78:1) uncut transfer looks stunning on blu ray. I can only image what the 4K looks llke, unfortunately I didn’t get that version for review. Cronenberg’s visuals, the production design, locations, & the colorful cinematography shine on this home video release. It’s one of the best looking films of 2020. It has a variety of audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 & English: Dolby Digital 2.0 in this blu ray. The music on these tracks sound amazing. This is the true highlight when it comes to the technical aspects of this release. All of the dialogue is crystal clear & the chaos has a killer boost to it. It also has English SDH subtitles.
Let’s discuss the special features from Well Go! It has a little over 8 minutes of “Deleted Scenes” which includes Panic Attack, Reid’s In the Pool, & Wake Up and Count. It has 3 different “Behind the Scenes” segments for a little over 37 minutes which includes A Heightened World, Identity Crisis, & The Joy of Practical. It has interviews with director Brandon Cronenberg, actors Andrea Riseborough, Sean Bean, Christopher Abbott, Tuppence Middleton, & various members of the production. They chat about the colorful look of the production. They talk about the technology & several things used in it for it’s unique world. They go over the concept, characters, working with Cronenberg, & other subjects about Possessor. They bring up the creative shots, it shows how they filmed stuff together with no green screen & some slick tricks. They discuss doing practical & real time fx for the feature. It gives you an inside into some of the graphic scenes from the movie. It has 3 different “Trailers” for Possessor which includes Green Band, Red Band, & Uncut. It has a nice slipcover. I am currently running a contest/giveaway for multiple free copies on the Facebook & Instagram pages. It’s also available on 4K. It was released everywhere & it can be purchased almost anywhere, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
