Film Review : "Possessor"

 I saw a few people refer to this movie by David Cronenberg’s son Brandon as horror.  It’s not. It is dark sci -fi.  I mean in a year where there is a noticed lack of horror movies that might be just sitting on the shelves , I am willing to make do with dark sci-fi to fill that void. The movie is violent enough and at times even gorey. Gore alone doesn’t make something horror.  Not as twisted as say “Old Boy” , the mind fuck is very overt. In fact at times it feels like it is perhaps trying too hard.   It looks great. It is also well acted. The sound mix is crucial to the film and nailed pretty well. All the technical elements of filmmaking he has down. He took notes from his father in this regard. In fact he might even go a little overboard trying to convey the traumatic flashbacks suffered by the conflicted protagonist. 

There are moments when you can not tell what reality they are in. This happens more as the film climaxes. The main protagonist you never get connected to as they are off screen and acting as the title suggests. You get more of the bodies they are riding. I think it does a good job of showing the dissonance it creates. How awkwardly they fit into their lives. There is one scene that I would not say is scary as much as it is , oh jeez this is not going to end well. So Brandon succeeds in making me feel something. If a film can do this they are doing something right. Another mark of the film’s success is when I am watching a movie at home there are enough distractions that I often stop and come back to it. I watched this all in one sitting, 

If you are a fan of his father’s work then you are going to like this movie. I mean the obvious comparison that came to mind was “Existenz” . It just benefits from better cinematography. The use of color in this film is impressive. It glosses over some of the discomfort caused by certain situations presented . If you show up to this movie wanting horror you may be disappointed. The trailer is kind of vague  and elusive when painting the best picture of what the tone is going to be. Dark is a fitting adjective for the film for sure. The premise of the movie is much more Phillip K Dick than Cliver Barker or Stephen King. I think if this came out in the summer before we experienced such a drought of horror, the lack of horror might not be a disappointing factor as it is very well made. Adjust your expectations going into this and if you like paranoid science fiction then this will be a fun ride for you.