There are some films whose reputations precede them. These are films you hear whispers about for years. Perhaps you’ve glimpsed certain key scenes on YouTube or in meme form, or maybe your friends have passionately described them to you in detail. To call these “cult films” would be far too quaint of a label. These aren’t just films; they’re rites of passage. Very few titles have earned a place in this league; Possession is leader of the pack. For the uninitiated, now’s your chance to experience Possession for yourself on Kino Film Collection.
Andrzej Żuławski’s 1981 film follows a married couple Mark (Sam Neill) and Anna (Isabelle Adjani) on the brink of divorce. Mark is a spy who returns from his latest espionage assignment to discover that Anna is having an affair. For Anna, the mere sight of Mark makes her skin crawl. The couple have a young son named Bob, who is sadly caught in the middle—an innocent casualty in the couple’s downward spiral. But when Mark decides to confront Anna’s lover face to face and hires a private investigator to have her followed, he discovers something far more sinister than infidelity. It really gives new meaning to the question “How well do you really know your spouse?”
Examining the pains of divorce through the genre of horror, Possession pushes the emotional agony so far that it explodes into a thousand sharp fragments that pierce each scene like glass. Every argument exposes the raw nerves of each character, every fight draws out their unpredictable and dangerous qualities simmering to a boil beneath the surface. There are electric knives and meat grinders involved, thrown chairs and bloodied lips. And that’s all before the unfathomable climactic reveal of the film, which you’ll have to just see to believe. To give you a hint: the scene features the work of special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi, who is best known for his otherworldly creations for Alien and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial but he may have had more fun on this one.
Possession is not a fever dream; it’s a fever scream. And much of the film’s visceral and unrelenting effect is due to Adjani, whose interpretation of Anna is not so much a performance but more like an actual possession. Her role is defined by a certain subway scene, which has now become so infamous that it’s widely considered to be the gold standard of freakout scenes (it’s influenced countless scream queens, and Lily-Rose Depp is the most recent to credit Adjani as an inspiration). The way Adjani’s body moves, the noises that she projects, and the all-consuming commitment to the violence and upheaval she’s experiencing are almost beyond comprehension. It’s no surprise that Adjani won the Best Actress award at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival, where Possession had its world premiere.
If it isn’t clear by now, Possession is arguably the most deranged breakup story that has ever graced the screen. That makes it—hear us out—the perfect Valentine’s Day movie. Maybe not for everyone, but certainly for the bold and fearless. Think about it: If Valentine’s Day is about celebrating love, then we should celebrate it in all its ugly, uncomfortable, excruciatingly devastating glory. It's like the old adage says: "If you can’t handle love at its Possession levels, then you don’t deserve love at its Notting Hill levels." And if watching two hours of a couple losing their minds and descending into an indescribable nightmare doesn’t bring you closer with your partner, we highly doubt Hugh Grant would make much of a difference. So this February 14th, do something different. Step outside—way, way outside—your comfort zone and snuggle up with a loved one (or friend, or, hey, a family member, why not?) and watch Possession. We can’t wait to welcome you to the initiated.