The target audience for body horror knows who they are. Films like Possessor are beautiful, unique, crucial pieces of art that capture something inherent to the human experience, but they aren't for everyone. Some people can't see past the slightly abstract storytelling or the overwhelming blood and gore. Those who can handle Possessor should see it immediately, but those who can't might still get something out of learning the plot.
Of all the family businesses in Hollywood, none is stranger than the Cronenbergs. David Cronenberg started creating the body horror genre in the early 70s with films like Shivers and Rabid, then crafted its biggest standouts with The Fly and Videodrome. In 2008, his son Brandon directed his first short film, picking up the body horror torch and continuing to carry it today.
What is Possessor About?
Possessor takes place in an alternate 2008 in which technology has advanced, but life has stagnated. An assassin named Tasya Vos struggles to balance her family and her career. Vos conducts her killings through advanced technology that allows her to possess the bodies of unsuspecting victims. Her organization surreptitiously implants a device in the brain of her target, then uses a complex machine to enable Vos to take control. Once the deed is done, Vos escapes the scene by compelling her borrowed body to commit suicide. It's a fool-proof system, but living in other people's heads has taken a toll on Tasya Vos's sense of self.
When Vos isn't committing gruesome murders, she tries to enjoy her life with her husband, Michael, and her son Ira. Her handler, a retired assassin named Girder, helps her to keep her identity. Girder also encourages Vos to abandon her family. With attachments, she'll always be a less effective killer. Her latest assignment will see her eliminate wealthy CEO John Parse and his daughter Ava. She invades the mind of Ava's fiancé, Colin Tate. Her possession of Tate is different. Vos feels her identity slipping in and out. Her determination begins to fail her as Tate's personality continues to fight for its body. Vos struggles to impersonate Tate at home, at work, and with his family. Vos and Tate battle for control of the body until Vos's family is drawn into the crossfire. The walls between identities begin to break down, and Vos becomes something else as she struggles to complete her purpose.
The following section contains spoilers for Possessor.
How does Possessor End?
The plot of Possessor doesn't contain that many events. It's not an epic. It's a deeply personal internal drama. Tasya Vos takes control of Colin Tate's body and guides him through a party at Parse's home. She plies Tate's body with alcohol and starts a fight with John to establish a motive. Vos is thrown out of the party. When she returns, she begins a long slow series of murders. She stabs John in the eye and kills Ava for interfering. When the time comes to end Tate's life, Vos finds herself unable to pull the trigger. Instead, Tate stabs himself in the head, damaging the implant and forcing Vos into his subconscious. Tate, finally in control of his body, flees the scene with no knowledge of what he did or why. He's back in the driver's seat, but his mind is packed with memories that aren't his.
Tate flees to a friend's apartment. During a fragmented memory of the hit on John, Tate kills his friend. One of Vos's fellow assassins, Eddie, arrives to put Tate down and complete the mission. Eddie fails to wrest control from Tate. Instead, Tate discovers Vos's consciousness in his head. Through a battle of will, Tate overpowers Vos and gains access to her identity. Tate tracks down Vos's husband and son. In search of answers and vengeance, Tate holds Vos's husband at gunpoint. Vos emerges and implores Tate to kill them. When Michael disarms Tate/Vos, her killer instinct takes over, and beats him to death with a meat cleaver. Vos's handler Girder takes over Ira, stabbing Tate in the throat and finally killing him. Vos's personality lashes out again, fatally shooting her son. After the dust settles, Tasya Vos is all that remains. She returns to Girder and discusses a memory from her youth. She recalls a butterfly she killed and mounted for display. Where she used to describe her guilt, she now says nothing. Girder's work is complete, and Tasya Vos is finally the perfect killer.
Possessor is complex, intellectual, and bracing. It's not an easy watch for anyone, but it's a must-see for those who can handle it. It's about so much more than blood and gore. The story of Tasya Vos is a tragedy. The system designed to ruthlessly rob her of her identity worked perfectly. From its incidental background details to its most memorable visuals, Possessor is unlike anything else. Its plot can be explained, but its identity must be seen to be believed.