Possession

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Possession

R

1981

2h 4m

Horror

Drama

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

45 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

After Anna (Isabelle Adjani) reveals to her husband, Mark (Sam Neill), that she is having an affair, she leaves him and their son. Mark is devastated, and seeks out Heinrich (Heinz Bennent), the man who cuckolded him, only to receive a beating. After a series of violent confrontations between Mark and Anna, Mark hires a private investigator to follow her. Anna descends into madness, and it's soon clear that she is hiding a much bigger secret -- one that is both inexplicable and shocking.

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Critics Consensus

Blending genres as effectively as it subverts expectations, Possession uses powerful acting and disquieting imagery to grapple with complex themes.

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Rachel Syme

The New Yorker

10/21/2024

The film contains one of the great gross-out scenes of all time...

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Peter Sobczynski

RogerEbert.com

10/01/2021

4/4

[Possession] remains one of the most grueling, powerful, and overwhelmingly intense cinematic experiences that you are likely to have in your lifetime.

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Ben Sachs

Chicago Reader

01/23/2014

Adjani won the best actress prize at Cannes for her dual performance (as an unfaithful wife and her angelic doppelganger), but the whole cast is astonishing, exorcising painful feelings with an intensity that rivals that of the filmmaking.

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Terrence O'Brien

The Verge

Feb 20

Possession is the sort of film that, even if you’ve had the whole plot spoiled for you, can be difficult to follow.

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Nadine Whitney

InSession Film

Jan 29

A

Possession is more than a horror film, and more than a cult film – it is art under extreme pressure. Sam Neill’s performance is excellent, but no one will ever doubt that the film belongs to Adjani.

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Rebecca Sayce

FILMHOUNDS Magazine

Jan 9

5/5

From start to finish, Żuławski blends dreamlike sequences with starkly bleak scenes of marital drama that remain as horrific today as they were 40 years ago.

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no

10/06/2024

wasn’t even the same movie lmfaooo

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unknown

02/03/2022

Movies wasn’t even that good, it was boring and most of the time just them fighting and getting naked

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Summer D

@summerlovesfilm 23h

A visceral descent into love, madness, and the terror of separation.

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A R

@SKOLPRANO 1d

Good movie 4/5 if I would’ve understood it was a metaphor for something going on in the directors personal life.

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Scott R

@ScottR Jul 4

SNS22 list. At first the characters were interesting, but then they devolved into the primal version of themselves when separation became the issue. It was painful to watch, but at times masterfully made. The setting in Cold War Berlin was excellent symbolically and also for the various apartments. However, this movie was mostly disturbing. The doppelgänger mess and the octopus in particular. Saw on box.

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Jeffrey P

@vanillavoodoo1 Jun 15

Strong dramatic performances and tones are well balanced with lingering low-key mystery and suspense, This is really a perfect example of not revealing too much too soon and only revealing what is necessary. The ending is kinda irrational and leaves some loose ends.

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Andrzej Żuławski

Director

Isabelle Adjani

Anna

Sam Neill

Mark

Margit Carstensen

Margit Gluckmeister

Heinz Bennent

Heinrich

Johanna Hofer

Heinrich's mother

Jenna Ortega’s Five Favorite Horror Films

Major Awards Need to Stop Ignoring Incredible Horror Performances

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Synopsis

After Anna (Isabelle Adjani) reveals to her husband, Mark (Sam Neill), that she is having an affair, she leaves him and their son. Mark is devastated, and seeks out Heinrich (Heinz Bennent), the man who cuckolded him, only to receive a beating. After a series of violent confrontations between Mark and Anna, Mark hires a private investigator to follow her. Anna descends into madness, and it's soon clear that she is hiding a much bigger secret -- one that is both inexplicable and shocking.

Director: Andrzej Żuławski
Producer: Marie-Laure Reyre
Screenwriter: Frederic Tuten, Andrzej Żuławski
Production Co: Gaumont, Marianne Productions, Oliane Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Drama
Original Language: English
Runtime: 2h 4m