 Thanks for checking out this movie review video So this is for the 2020 release Possessor by Brandon Cronenberg and when I'm doing this review It's available on the Hulu streaming service, which it's not behind the paywall I have kind of the basic Hulu membership where I'm not paying extra or anything. So A lot of people could check this film out. So let's get into it. I'm very excited about this I will say up front. I really did enjoy this film It did something to me that films that I really enjoyed do a lot of times Which is I couldn't stop thinking about it and Analyzing it after I'd finished watching it and that happened after I watched it when I was trying to go to sleep And the next morning basically as soon as I woke up Hey, hell even a few times when I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom Well actually one time I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and I started thinking about it So that's how you know, it's a great affecting film and this film is it's really good There will be no spoilers in this although there's some like slight thematic spoilers But nothing that's really going to reveal any sort of twists of the film or anything like that. So basically no spoilers in this review, so Let's get into it Written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg Now I knew this film would most likely be good because I saw his first feature-length film that was in 2012 That was antiviral and if you have not seen antiviral you should definitely see it And if you've seen possessor and you haven't seen antiviral. Oh my gosh see antiviral now. I think I'm undecided I need to revisit antiviral to see if I like possessor more or if I like antiviral more But one of the things I love about antiviral is that Caleb Landry Jones plays the main character in it And his performance is ridiculous, but that's it's no different in this film because there's character by the name of Wrought an actor by the name of I think it's Christopher I'll find it. It's in my notes somewhere Who it was but for the most part the acting in this film is overall quite good. I will say oh, yes, here it is Christopher Abbott so he plays one of the characters that's focused on a lot and He did a particularly crazy good job because his role what he had to do with his role It was very very tough very tough And if you've seen the film you know what I'm talking about if you haven't seen the film You will know what I'm talking about but like I said all the acting was really good But Christopher Abbott in in particular. Oh my gosh that performance. So kudos to that guy I did see him in the film It comes at night which a lot of people didn't like but I actually kind of did I actually have a review for it on My channel so check that out So Cronenberg had said apparently that the majority that most of the special effects and this are actually practical So there wasn't a lot of CGI used and that was kind of his purpose He didn't want to use CGI. He knows that CGI doesn't age well He knows that CGI doesn't actually look that great practical is always better So a lot of the interesting kind of effects in the film and it does get pretty trippy looking at times That was all done in camera, which I think is very impressive and I have a lot of respect for Brandon Cronenberg for doing that And yes, by the way, if you don't know Brandon Cronenberg is the son of David Cronenberg So and because well it may be because of that and it may not be because of that There are elements of body horror that are at play in this film and it's not like too much But it is it is good. It's well done Cronenberg said that he was inspired in particular by a book by Jose Delgado from the 1970s And the book was entitled physical control of the mind toward a psycho-civilized society So one of the quotes on what this this book talks about is kind of dense but hear me out on this Quote demonstrates how movements can be induced by radio command Hostility may appear or disappear social hierarchy can be modified Sexual behavior may be changed and memory emotions and the thinking process may be influenced by remote control Now this is seen very very clearly in the film and people who have just seen the trailer know Based off off the trailer that that's seen clearly in the film because well I'll do the synopsis in a second after I get to this now from a visual standpoint The inspiration for Cronenberg came from Dario Argento and you can see that if you know it watching the film Or if you go back to the film and watch it He said specifically the film opera by Dario Argento He took and used a lot of the inspiration from that you can see it not only in some of the color usage and some of the shot Framing but also in the way that architecture is used in a very interesting and visually pleasing way That's one of the big things that Argento did a lot is use really cool interesting looking architecture And one of the things that becomes clear with the visual aesthetic that's going on here with Brandon Cronenberg is he's using a lot of environments that have shapes Featured in them and it creates this really cool visual Situation like even though the film moves kind of slowly and it does move kind of slowly You're finding yourself just like really taking everything in taking in the environment It looks very beautiful. It looks very clean Sleek and it's interesting. So that really helps when you have a slower moving film Which some people might not like about this film, but I'm good with it It's as long as it pays off in the end and I feel like it definitely does There is a possibility for a second film for this and I'll tell you why because apparently Cronenberg said there was a bunch of material that was actually cut out of the original script So much so that you actually could do another film to go along with this one And I've heard great things as far as people reviewing this film. So maybe that's a possibility I don't know so the quick little synopsis without giving much of anything away This is all based off the trailer type synopsis stuff It actually I'm gonna reveal even less than is revealed in the trailer Because I feel like they revealed too much in that it doesn't ruin the film though still so basically a woman working for a company that is involved in Having people possess other people's bodies to use them as assassins to take out Certain people the clients for the company are like high paying very powerful people who want specific people dead So it's this thing. We're saying here's a ton of money You discreetly take care of this and obviously they don't want any of their employees to be caught specifically the main woman it focuses on and So they found a way to basically get her inside other people's bodies So that they can assassinate and then she gets out of the bodies But the whole big thing is then there's a job that comes along that things don't exactly go to plan And that's all I'm gonna say about it. Does it sound interesting? Yes, because it is interesting The film goes from slow and atmospheric to actually kind of crazy and intriguing kind of at a drop of a hat You you kind of see it coming a little bit But when it strikes you didn't know it was nest that necessarily gonna strike right then and to that degree The other thing about it is it's very unflinching in a lot of the kills that happen in the film. It's very Brutal, it's very gory. It's very long Like I said unflinching the camera is unflinching. We're like really focusing and really watching what's going on So it's very very violent. It's very gory and some people may have a hard time with that My wife did because she watched this with me. She literally like covered her eyes and she's like tell me when I'm good Tell me when it's over, but I appreciate that, you know good practical facts Some stuff is really brutal too pretty impressive Already talked about the use of shapes and architecture wonderful I did have a little bit of a problem with some of the camera work Especially early on in this film it does get better as the film goes on but early on there was a lot of Instability with the camera work like kind of getting that and this is something I harp on lately a lot Kind of getting that like on a boat motion thing And especially when there are a lot of really tight shots on characters And for that reason like when you're in very tight on someone any like Aaron kind of motion with the camera is even easier to pick up on and it's more exaggerated So that's one of the things I really didn't enjoy. I thought they should have kept it more stable You know, maybe use a tripod in those instances because there were a lot of shots where you know It's in tight on a character and they weren't moving with the character or anything It's just like a stable should have been a stable shot. So Some of those choices I wasn't a big fan of but it's a small thing and like I said it got better There are plenty of portions with no music, which if you have watched enough of my reviews You know, I'm a big fan of not needing to use music You let the audience kind of just take in the atmosphere of what's actually what is actually going on and figure out on their own how they're supposed to feel about things because There is such a thing as filmmakers leading the audience too much and I feel like music Especially when it's played heavily does that now with the music in this film. It's got it's got this interesting kind of like Technological like cyclical sound to it it it's it's very Mechanical and tech like techno mechanical, you know, think about The sounds of like a server room or something like that, you know, those kind of like worrying cyclical sounds So yeah stuff like that But the music's good. It's well done and it's restrained and it's used very very well Pieces of story are actually a little bit hard to catch at times Because some of the delivery of lines are kind of soft and also end up becoming a little mumbly now I think it's okay in the sense that it makes it seem more realistic because people are talking in a more realistic manner How they would with each other but also it Well at the same time it adds that issue of you kind of miss some things sometimes so Not only for this reason, but I think this film needs more than one viewing when I'm doing this review I've only seen it once I've done a lot of time like processing in my head What I saw and I do plan at some point to go back to it So I can catch all the little things that I know are just littered through the film that You know give you more hints for what was coming at the end And I'm excited to do that and I'm actually feeling very compelled to do that And that's great because when I can watch a film and then like the next day feel like I Kind of want to watch it again that it's not often that that happens. So yeah The sequence designed for body jumping to show you that it's actually happening with the assassin Looks really cool. It looks really artistic and the main reason for that is it's the practical effects It's really interesting You could have done it with CGI, but I just don't think it would have been as cool and interesting and trippy as it ends up Being so I love that commitment to the practical effects There are the prolonged kills already. Sorry already covered that but If you're squeamish, there's some tough kind of stuff there Even though it moves slowly the film keeps you engaged because you really have no clue where it's going it is slow it is atmospheric and a Lot of the times you'll just feel like very relaxed and you're just kind of like Ah, whatever you might get bored, but with this you truly never know where it's actually going It really just keeps this air of mystery until you get to the very end of the film really you feel at any time Like anything could happen the story could go in any direction and that's a great thing that really keeps the audience Involved and it for me. It really kept me involved. My wife did fall asleep, but then again that happens with other movies, too The end is kind of crazy and it leaves you actually thinking for quite some time after the credits end up rolling I was confused as soon as it ended. I needed time to process the film. I literally as soon as it was done sat there in silence and just thought and Then went upstairs I was gonna go to bed and I'm like when brushing my teeth and I'm still thinking about it I'm getting ready for bed and I'm still thinking about it My wife's trying to have a conversation with me and I'm still thinking about it And I'm also like verbalizing some of that to her to kind of like process things I'm like, yeah, but then if because this happened earlier in the film Then that means that this was how this was in the end and you know those types of things going on That is a calling card of a very well crafted story a very well-written script and a really well Executed film and I love that. I love that The film kind of looks like the film Inception by Christopher Nolan every now and then I feel like there had to be a little bit of influence from Inception with this film And there's actually kind of an aspect of the film that gets a little Inception Ask as far as the kind of possession aspect of it because it is called possessor and I'm not gonna elaborate upon that But you'll see what I mean when you see the film or you know, you'll know what I mean if you have seen the film In particular it happens kind of with a sequence one particular sequence is where it really comes up The title is dual meaning which I love I love the fact that it is a dual meaning title and to the title It made me really think this is kind of a sci-fi take on a horror possession film And I love that like I'm not big on the possession subgenre But this is the type of possession film that I am interested in and it's new. It's very fresh It's a unique idea. It's really cool I'm all in I love it and and like I said, you know Brandon Cronenberg said there's potentially enough to do another film I would love to see that I will see that and like I said, I'm gonna watch this again. Maybe more than once I don't know It does seem like this is a very small thing But there's an interesting small parallel in the film between the body possessing job of the main of the female main female character and Acting like actually doing acting because if you think about it if you're possessing another person's body You have to act like that person So you actually see that kind of stuff going on where they're trying to like get down their lines Kind of and their mannerisms and the way they talk and stuff like that So it's a cool kind of underlying small theme where this whole thing is about acting as well So it it was pretty cool the story and cinematic visuals focused so much on the senses That it actually made me start thinking about what it would be like to lose my senses or lose control of my senses And that would be something that was it would be experienced by people being possessed, you know In any possession type film So it just got me to think about that and that's another great thing is when a film can get you to think about things like that Especially things like that that are pretty scary to think about You did a good job. I mean, that's kind of the point of horror stuff. Obviously. This is this categorized as horror sci-fi thriller Which makes sense with all those tags. I agree with it Ultimately, it's an interesting twist on the possession subgenre as there's a real division in this between mind and body And that's another really interesting thing that it brings up is it made me start thinking about like it is nuts that With our brain like our reality is based in our brain and there is a I think that all came about with the Renee Descartes the philosopher Renee Descartes Basically the the separation of your reality is your brain. Basically your reality is not your body So it became the separation of brain versus body And that's very much in display in this film and it makes you think about it more about like your reality Is your brain and everything getting processed through it. So when you think about like your body It's weird to think that your brain controls your body and how you control your body and then going further thinking about the scenario in this film of if somebody else were to take over your body or if a disease takes over your body and it starts to You know deteriorate it and it takes control to some degree And there is a little bit in the film talked about in respects to that stuff But once again, it just makes you think about these things So that's all the big stuff I had to say but the last like very little thing I wanted to say and I'm sure people who have just seen the trailer have already seen this the head apparatus that's used For when the main female character kind of like goes under to then possess bodies um The design of it looks basically like a plague doctor mask that was designed by h. R. Giger Now because anyone feeling me on that I really feel like that I feel strongly it looks cool But yeah, that that's how it struck me. So anyway, um, obviously I'd love to talk about this in the comments So I'm gonna go ahead and say Spoilers in the comments go ahead if you've seen it. Let's talk in the comments. We can get very specific. It's all good Um We'd love to hear people's opinions on it too. Did you love it? Did you hate it? Whatever but out of five stars with half stars in play I can't go all the way on this but I'm gonna give it four and a half stars Which I do not give that out lightly to anyone and I'm also gonna say like I was on board after seeing antiviral I am still on board for anything brandon kronenberg after seeing possessor Uh, really enjoy this film really good great achievement. I look forward to what he has in store for us brandon Um, hopefully he has more in store for us. Hopefully another possessor But anyway, uh, do me a quick favor hit that subscribe button if you like this video or any video I've ever done that's your way to repay me because I'm not making money doing this or anything I'm just throwing the content out there for building a nerdy horror community. So join that community hit the subscribe button It's very painless. Uh, also hit the notification bell and that way you will know when I'm putting up other movie review videos Or haul videos or unboxings or any of that stuff But regardless, I do appreciate you taking your time to check this out Especially if you've made it to the end of this video and until next time keep it brutal