Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
07-30-20, 07:27 PM
#1
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Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
Very interested in seeing this movie, although I've heard mixed reviews about it. Seems to be low on character development and plot coherency, but high on stunning and gruesome visuals.
No Body is Safe
Tasya Vos (Riseborough) is a corporate agent who uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people’s bodies, driving them to commit assassinations for the benefit of the company she works for. Soon she finds herself trapped in the mind of a man whose warped personality threatens to obliterate her own.
07-31-20, 09:50 AM
#3
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Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
I love the title, it sounds like an 80s B horror film. In fact, wasn't that the title of the cursed movie in Popcorn?
07-31-20, 10:01 AM
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Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
I did not love Antiviral.
I saw it at a film fest where Brandon Cronenberg attended and did a Q&A, and... he was kind of disappointed that people laughed at some big chunks of the film. He said something about it making him reconsider what he was trying to accomplish with it. As far as I know, he didn't make any changes to the edit, though. I actually felt bad for the guy... I didn't hate the movie by any stretch (my wife did, though), but it had some issues. Regardless, I'm glad to see him behind the camera again.
I'm down for this one. The trailer says Coming Soon, but is there an actual date yet? I imagine it's VOD, which is fine... good horror flicks seem to do well with the VOD market.
I saw it at a film fest where Brandon Cronenberg attended and did a Q&A, and... he was kind of disappointed that people laughed at some big chunks of the film. He said something about it making him reconsider what he was trying to accomplish with it. As far as I know, he didn't make any changes to the edit, though. I actually felt bad for the guy... I didn't hate the movie by any stretch (my wife did, though), but it had some issues. Regardless, I'm glad to see him behind the camera again.
I'm down for this one. The trailer says Coming Soon, but is there an actual date yet? I imagine it's VOD, which is fine... good horror flicks seem to do well with the VOD market.
07-31-20, 02:01 PM
#5
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Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
If nothing else this definitely seems to carry the Cronenberg name in visuals. If they release it VOD near Halloween I'll give it a rent.
07-31-20, 02:42 PM
#6
Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
This looks awesome. Andrea Riseborough is sure cutting out a very particular niche for herself.
09-04-20, 12:53 PM
#8
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Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
When I clicked this thread and read the sypnosis (before i saw the director's full name), I thought David Cronenberg made a follow up to Scanner.
09-04-20, 03:40 PM
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Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
Wait, so there's two different versions (Possessor and Possessor Uncut)... already? Or is it, like... Uncut will play in cinemas and the other version will be on VOD and such? I want to know more!
10-02-20, 02:36 AM
#10
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Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
Hitting theaters this weekend.
You can find what theater is screening the Uncut version here: https://possessormovie.com/
Closest theater to me that will have it is about an hour away. Thinking about going.
I honestly haven't heard any talk about the film's content being an issue.
The Uncut tag/title could always just be a marketing ploy to get people to attend screenings with all that is going on in the world.
Neon is handling the Theatrical Release and I can't think of a film that they ever released cut from it's original (intended) version.
Well Go has home media right and I don't think they've done that either.
You can find what theater is screening the Uncut version here: https://possessormovie.com/
Closest theater to me that will have it is about an hour away. Thinking about going.
The Uncut tag/title could always just be a marketing ploy to get people to attend screenings with all that is going on in the world.
Neon is handling the Theatrical Release and I can't think of a film that they ever released cut from it's original (intended) version.
Well Go has home media right and I don't think they've done that either.
Last edited by asianxcore; 10-02-20 at 02:46 AM.
10-02-20, 08:41 AM
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Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
I saw it last night. The first bit of text was "This film has not been modified from its original version..." and then "uncut" and then, much, much later... the actual title of the film... Possessor. If there is some sort of trimmed-down version, I have a good guess as to the 3 or 4 shots that they'd cut down; some violent, some sexual.
Anyway... I quite enjoyed it. It's a bit of a slow burn, but has some pretty intense, brutal moments. I'll leave it at that until more folks have had a chance to sink their teeth into it.
Anyway... I quite enjoyed it. It's a bit of a slow burn, but has some pretty intense, brutal moments. I'll leave it at that until more folks have had a chance to sink their teeth into it.
10-09-20, 09:57 PM
#12
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Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
Just got back from watching Possessor Uncut. The title card that @Dan described is shown ahead of the studio logos, which confused me because I knew nothing about this movie going in (other than it being a Brandon Cronenberg joint) and hadn't even looked at this thread. I thought it was some sort of weird statement that BC was making by putting in that card. It was only after the film was over that it dawned on me that the version headed to streaming would be edited.
Side note: I've started noticing cuts to both TV shows and movies on Amazon Prime and TubiTV. Tubi I understand because it's free, but I'm disappointed by Prime showing edited content since it's a subscription service. My guess is that uncut versions are available through Prime for folks willing to shell out extra $ for rentals.
In terms of cuts to Possessor, I think I know which shots Dan's referring to. If we're correct, I don't believe dropping them will affect the atmosphere (let alone the plot) all that much.
I really enjoyed the low-fi effects that BC used. It was so refreshing to see practical effects after watching so many films with very discernible CGI. The fact that they were low-fi made them much creepier (in a number of instances) than slick, highly polished effects.
Also, it was nice to see recognizable Toronto locations. I don't recall if the city in the film is ever named, but it's very clearly Toronto.
I'm dying to find out what people think is actually going on between Andrea Riseborough and Christopher Abbott in the movie. I suspect it's deliberately ambiguous; regardless of BC's intent, the final product is open to interpretation, and for me, it really works.
Tonight was the last night that cinemas were going to be open in my neck of the woods. Orders came down earlier this week that we're going to a modified Phase 2 which means no indoor theatrical exhibition for the next few weeks at least. I'm glad got this one in under the wire because out of the three movies I've seen in the theatre since the pandemic began, this one is easily the best.
Side note: I've started noticing cuts to both TV shows and movies on Amazon Prime and TubiTV. Tubi I understand because it's free, but I'm disappointed by Prime showing edited content since it's a subscription service. My guess is that uncut versions are available through Prime for folks willing to shell out extra $ for rentals.
In terms of cuts to Possessor, I think I know which shots Dan's referring to. If we're correct, I don't believe dropping them will affect the atmosphere (let alone the plot) all that much.
I really enjoyed the low-fi effects that BC used. It was so refreshing to see practical effects after watching so many films with very discernible CGI. The fact that they were low-fi made them much creepier (in a number of instances) than slick, highly polished effects.
Also, it was nice to see recognizable Toronto locations. I don't recall if the city in the film is ever named, but it's very clearly Toronto.
I'm dying to find out what people think is actually going on between Andrea Riseborough and Christopher Abbott in the movie. I suspect it's deliberately ambiguous; regardless of BC's intent, the final product is open to interpretation, and for me, it really works.
Tonight was the last night that cinemas were going to be open in my neck of the woods. Orders came down earlier this week that we're going to a modified Phase 2 which means no indoor theatrical exhibition for the next few weeks at least. I'm glad got this one in under the wire because out of the three movies I've seen in the theatre since the pandemic began, this one is easily the best.
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Dan (10-09-20)
10-10-20, 04:51 AM
#13
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Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
Well this is not good news for people who can only see this movie via streaming:
From https://www.rogerebert.com/interview...g-on-possessor
As I said earlier, I really hope the cuts aren't significant. The theatrical version I saw ran 103 minutes, so with luck, the streaming version won't be much shorter than that.
From https://www.rogerebert.com/interview...g-on-possessor
Interviewer: First off, is the uncut version significantly longer or more violent than cut from the festival one? What’s the distinction between these two iterations of the film?
BC: The uncut version is just the complete film in my mind. That's the unrated director's cut. That’s what screened at Sundance and that's the full film. There is a cut version just because in the U.S. to get an R rating there had to be some cuts. Fortunately I've had a lot of support from my distributors, Neon and Well Go, to release the uncut as the lead version, but the cut, R-rated version will probably be released on some platforms that don't allow uncut, unrated films.
BC: The uncut version is just the complete film in my mind. That's the unrated director's cut. That’s what screened at Sundance and that's the full film. There is a cut version just because in the U.S. to get an R rating there had to be some cuts. Fortunately I've had a lot of support from my distributors, Neon and Well Go, to release the uncut as the lead version, but the cut, R-rated version will probably be released on some platforms that don't allow uncut, unrated films.
As I said earlier, I really hope the cuts aren't significant. The theatrical version I saw ran 103 minutes, so with luck, the streaming version won't be much shorter than that.
10-10-20, 01:56 PM
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Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
Yeah, I think it'll be a lot like The House That Jack Built, which only had about 30 seconds cut between versions... And probably not enough to detract from most peoples enjoyment of the film.
That said, I'll be buying that 4K uncut version for my collection. Gotta support the Canadians
That said, I'll be buying that 4K uncut version for my collection. Gotta support the Canadians
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L Everett Scott (10-11-20)
10-10-20, 02:37 PM
#15
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Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
I wasn't a huge fan of Brandon Cronenberg's Debut, Antiviral but I really enjoyed this.
The cast & performances are great as are the effects work. Everything is just a bit more tight this time around and a bit more strange, which I love.
I also love that Cronenberg chose to work with with Director/Cinematographer Karim Hussain again, as the film looks great on that end.
I knew Hussain for his his 2000 film Subconscious Cruelty but sometimes forget he's done a lot of Cinematography work for other Directors.
The cast & performances are great as are the effects work. Everything is just a bit more tight this time around and a bit more strange, which I love.
I also love that Cronenberg chose to work with with Director/Cinematographer Karim Hussain again, as the film looks great on that end.
I knew Hussain for his his 2000 film Subconscious Cruelty but sometimes forget he's done a lot of Cinematography work for other Directors.
10-10-20, 03:49 PM
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Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
looking forward to it. i think i have uncut version streaming. 103 minutes, right?
10-11-20, 10:18 AM
#18
Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
How would one "have" it already if it isn't available streaming? 
Last edited by dex14; 10-11-20 at 11:28 AM.
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asianxcore (10-11-20)
10-11-20, 12:24 PM
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Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
sorry dex. didn't mean to tarnish your feelings of me 
but, if it's any consolation, it's not me, it's a friend...
but, if it's any consolation, it's not me, it's a friend...
10-11-20, 02:41 PM
#20
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Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
Apparently the same kid that provided the neighborhood with tech support now provides those same people with Plex accounts.
10-11-20, 02:45 PM
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10-11-20, 04:03 PM
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Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
anyway, back to the movie. i saw a little bit of the beginning. very brutal, but in that realistic sense where the people seem like normal people doing some fucked up shit. that's scary, when it looks like regular people doing crazy stuff. rather than special effects laden horror movie...
10-12-20, 05:37 PM
#24
Re: Possessor (2020, D: B. Cronenberg) S: A. Riseborough, C. Abbott, S. Bean, JJ Leigh
Intense original gory sci-fi thriller from the son of the great David Cronenberg.
4.5/5
4.5/5