‘Pull me out…’
There aren’t many offspring of film directors that follow in their parents’ footsteps. Rob Reiner. Sofia Coppola. Ivan Reitman. Nick Cassavetes… OK, so maybe there is a fair few. But it is less common in the world of horror. David Cronenberg is a master of the form, of course. The man who brought us Scanners, The Brood and The Fly has consistently been one of horror’s most distinctive voices, and if Possessor is anything to go by, his son Brandon Cronenberg promises to be just as explosive…
Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough) is an international assassin who utilises terrifying, state-of-the-art technology in order to inhabit her victims before carrying out a murder spree culminating in a suicide. Colin Tate (Christopher Abbot), her latest target, proves a tough nut to crack as Vos struggles to remember who she is.
A unique premise then and one that is executed perfectly using physical effects and understated CGI that come straight from the Cronenberg songbook. While Brandon is less in thrall to body horror as his father, there are still moments here that shock, and moments that spark discomfort. Perhaps the most impressive achievement here is the ability to meld sci-fi, horror and crime together to create a satisfying whole that never feels overly ambitious or messy.
Riseborough is cold enough and distant enough to sell her descent into alienation and madness, but it is Abbot who mostly impresses, the latest in a string of likeable and powerful performances that point to the fact that we will no doubt be seeing a lot more of him over the coming months. He can be charming, murderous and beleaguered, often all within the same scene, and it is this chameleonic quality that makes him such a captivating onscreen presence.
Questions of nepotism will always arise with family members already within the industry, but with Possessor, Brandon Cronenberg has cemented his own name on the horror landscape. I can’t wait to see where he goes next…