Possession

Well, uh, that sure was something. Not sure I liked it much, but it was something. Oblique, intense, and VERY European. (So, so European.) I couldn't really sympathize with any of the characters, and I needed more answers than the movie was willing to give. The bugnuts performances held my attention at least.

If The Brood was too coherent for you, boy, will Possession give you the 'what the shiiiiit' you crave! The exaggerated, almost primal acting only adds to the surreal experience. Impossible to predict and at times frustratingly vague (I guess I need to read up on the context in which the film was made). Still, the imagery is INTENSE and some scenes will haunt me for quite a while. Isabelle Adjani was a revelation.

The film is intense, but only because the actors are completely overdoing it and the cameraman has some form of ADD. The performances are histrionic to the point of utter laughability. (is that the point? is this a comedy?) Also, anything "Lovecraftian" almost always seems more silly than disquieting, and this is no exception. Add on some paper thin metaphors/symbolism, and the film feels like a parody of itself.

I liked the cinematography but honestly what the hell was this? From start to finish it just feels like a really insane noncoherant horror fest. Maybe that was the point, in fact I'm sure it was the point, but that doesn't make good cinema. The acting was so over-the-top it was almost laughable. No, it's not the worst horror you'll ever see but still this movie is downright absurd. Watch Cronenberg's "The Brood" instead.

I don't know what to make of this movie: it's insanity commenting, by filmically vomiting on, insanity. This is somewhere between Wiseau's The Room and Trier's Antichrist, with the pluses and minuses of both. I don't even know if I like it. But I won't forget it.