Possession

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2:39

Possession

R

1981

2h 4m

Horror

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

46 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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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Jul 15

5/5

…a psychosexual nightmare of ambiguous political intent…Possession is a strikingly acted and original horror film that never loses its edge as a portrait of a relationship crumbling into gelid darkness…

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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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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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Orin D

@RT64117979 5d

Possession is a must see neurotic/sexual/slasher flick w/ lots of plot twists & plenty of unpleasant surprises. The acting across the board is top notch especially the Cannes Festival Best Actress award winning performance of Isabelle Adjani as Anna. This isn't a film for the squeamish as it out does Hitchcock's "Psycho" for bathroom gore. You'd swear the brutal violence here was real & that that isn't fake blood. I doubt that my wife could watch this one without turning her head away frequently. I will surely return to watch this one again in a year or so, God willing. Share this beauty w/ your braver friends! Orin P. Domenico

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Greg M

@RT10566190 Jul 13

Vale Sam Neill. This movie left me disturbed for days after I saw it in the early 80s. One of Neill's best.

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Summer D

@summerlovesfilm Jul 11

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

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A R

@SKOLPRANO Jul 10

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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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

Possession: Trailer 1

2:39

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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