Possessor

[Corpsey]

I looked this up and IdleRich saw it and thought it was rubbish, but I just saw it and it rocked my world.

I'd read all about how "visceral" and "gory" it was - and it is, but I wasn't prepared for how disturbing and sadistic the violence in it was. (Also the explicit nudity that is standard in hardcore porn but surprising to see in a (sort of) mainstream movie.)



I dunno, maybe I was just so shocked by how uncompromisingly vicious it was that I'm overrating it. I was certainly conscious of it going out of its way to be disturbing (with the requisite atonal dissonant soundtrack) and of it not presenting a full and realistic picture of life. (By which I mean there is no love, basically no friendship, no laughs.)

But I rated it. Full of ghastly images that will haunt me and festoon my bad, cheese induced dreams for weeks to come.

It seemed to connect with some of the topics we discuss on here too. Reality being fake. The loss of self. Video games influencing reality. The internet's effect on our psychology.

 

[Corpsey]

Obviously it's like an evil Inception, but it also reminded me of Under the Skin. Except where that movie was about something non-human either trying to be more human or being unable to stop themselves becoming more human, this is about somebody (just about) human trying to become inhuman.

 

[luka]

what is it though we've never heard of it you have to explain what it is

 

[Corpsey]

I've actually only seen Cronenberg senior's less hardcore movies: The Fly, History of Violence, The Dead Zone, that one about russian gangsters.

 

[Corpsey]

what is it though we've never heard of it you have to explain what it is

It's a film directed by David Cronenberg's son Brandon Cronenberg.

The premise is there's an organisation that gets paid to assassinate people. Their method is to kidnap and "possess" somebody connected to the target and make it look like a murder-suicide.

The main protagonist is a woman who has done this many times and is clearly cracking up. She has an ex husband and child. She agrees to do a job where she possesses the boyfriend of the target's daughter. The target is the CEO of a data mining corporation.

 

[Corpsey]

His dad must be so proud ❤️❤️❤️

 

[IdleRich]

I looked this up and IdleRich saw it and thought it was rubbish, but I just saw it and it rocked my world.

I'd read all about how "visceral" and "gory" it was - and it is, but I wasn't prepared for how disturbing and sadistic the violence in it was. (Also the explicit nudity that is standard in hardcore porn but surprising to see in a (sort of) mainstream movie.)

I wouldn't say that I thought it was rubbish, but perhaps I had unfairly high expectations.
You are definitely right about the violence, I completely thought that I was completely desensitized to film violence but apparently not.
Since I saw it I actually found out that one of my friends worked on it - she does fx and make up and stuff so I guess she was probably at least partly responsible for the horrific gore.
But what's weird, I don't really remember any nudity at all. Hmmm. That's funny.
I was very high when I saw it, perhaps not the best way to form a critical opinion. I realised two days later or whatever that I couldn't remember what happened at the end which is not a good sign. Same with Mandy... in fact that's so badly faded I should watch it again. That being so it might be that - it pains me to say (not really) - that Corpsey could easily be more on the money than me (again).

 

[Corpsey]

I'm quite gullible though, Rich, just wait until Luka sees it and it's not as good as Sorcerer.

 

[IdleRich]

I think I had a problem with the over-eleborateness of the murdering once they had kinda inceptioned in, why didn't they just pick the nearest person and kill them straight away? It seemed to me that if they had power then murder should be really easy. Maybe this was explained, I forget.
Of course that shouldn't affect all the stuff about the main character losing her identity and stuff but (perceived) plot holes can kinda bug the hell out of me. I guess that's a form of pedantry though.

 

[Corpsey]

I've actually only seen Cronenberg senior's less hardcore movies: The Fly, History of Violence, The Dead Zone, that one about russian gangsters.

Also A Dangerous Method and Cosmopolis.

But again, not the really hardcore ones like The Brood, Rabid, etc.

 

[Corpsey]

I think I had a problem with the over-eleborateness of the murdering once they had kinda inceptioned in, why didn't they just pick the nearest person and kill them straight away? It seemed to me that if they had power then murder should be really easy. Maybe this was explained, I forget.
Of course that shouldn't affect all the stuff about the main character losing her identity and stuff but (perceived) plot holes can kinda bug the hell out of me. I guess that's a form of pedantry though.

With the main murder the explanation is that it has to look like an "organic" murder, so they pick somebody who has access to the target and who could plausibly have a reason to murder them. Not sure how that applies to the first murder though, it's definitely inconsistent.

I suppose it's one of those high concepts that would fall to pieces quickly if you tugged at the loose threads.

 

[IdleRich]

That was my feeling, but it's perfectly possible that I tugged at the threads and failed to see the interesting tapestry I was vandalising.

 

[Corpsey]

I didn't catch this but a review I've read points out that this tactic of possessing the body of somebody close to the target with which to kill them ties in with the general theme of corporations taking over people's identities, attacking them (semi) metaphorically from the inside.

The idea of being taken over by someone / something else is the most disturbing aspect of it.

The inhumanity and sadism of the assassin is disturbing but less (hate using this word) relatable.

I'd like to know others opinions on what was going on with her exceeding her remit with the murder methods. Why was she driven to be so vicious? Was it her own sadism, her inability to feel, or was it a sort of "method acting", or even that the genuine feelings of the person possessed were coming through?

 

[IdleRich]

The idea of being taken over by someone / something else is the most disturbing aspect of it.

Remind me, what happened to the people who were possessed after they were un-possessed?

 

[Corpsey]

They're supposed to kill themselves but in the case of the guy who takes her over he seems to vacillate between believing he'd done the murders (to the extent of inventing a reason for it) and knowing he'd been taken over. That was a really cool element of it, he had PTSD from committing murders he hadn't actually committed himself (although another interesting element is the question of to what extent "he" is involved in the murders, even if under duress). Some people online theorise that the reason the second murder is so horrible is that the host had feelings of anger and hatred that the possessor was channelling.

 

[Corpsey]

I can't edit my original post, I'd like to add SPOILER to the title cos it's really a movie you should watch unspoiled.

Might do a Cronenberg season

 

[Pandiculate]

I enjoyed it but was expecting to be blown away and I just wasn't, it did remind of Under the Skin a lot but that gripped me in a way this kinda failed to do. I was on a load of ket though, but if anything that should make something like this better.

 

[Corpsey]

I note that you were high on ket and IdleRich was very high on something, so I'm afraid your opinions, while appreciated, are completely invalid.

 

[Corpsey]

Under the Skin was better though, I admit. Though I found it less disturbing.

 

[Corpsey]

I'm just going to bang on about this until everyone sees it and tells me it's shit