Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

Possession

Play trailer Poster for Possession R 1981 2h 4m Horror Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
85% Tomatometer 39 Reviews 78% 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.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Possession

Possession

What to Know

Critics Consensus

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

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (39) Critics Reviews
Rachel Syme New Yorker The film contains one of the great gross-out scenes of all time... Oct 21, 2024 Full Review Peter Sobczynski RogerEbert.com [Possession] remains one of the most grueling, powerful, and overwhelmingly intense cinematic experiences that you are likely to have in your lifetime. Rated: 4/4 Oct 1, 2021 Full Review Ben Sachs Chicago Reader 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. Jan 23, 2014 Full Review Bianca Garner Filmotomy The film is essentially about the war between the sexes and the destructive nature of love. Oct 11, 2024 Full Review Ray Pride Newcity Zulawski’s beloved berserker of marital mayhem... is the vicious m-----. Bergman’s <i>Scenes From A Marriage”</i>? Only vamping... See it with someone you’re not sure about. Rated: 10/10 Jul 2, 2024 Full Review Brian Bisesi Horror Movie Club Podcast While Possession is certainly one of a kind, its imaginative plot is over-shadowed by stilted dialogue and overly theatrical performances. Rated: 2/5 Mar 13, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (408) audience reviews
no wasn’t even the same movie lmfaooo Rated 1 out of 5 stars 10/06/24 Full Review unknown Movies wasn’t even that good, it was boring and most of the time just them fighting and getting naked Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/03/22 Full Review Thomas W Absolute laughable mess. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 11/03/24 Full Review Wayne K The only English language film from European art-house director Andrzej Żuławski, Possession’s level of violence and the controversial subject matter evidentially ruffled a few feathers back in 1981, and its only in subsequent years that’s its reputation has grown. It has a very distinctive directing style and presentation, with camerawork designed to make you feel like a character in the scenes, and cinematography that aims to replicate the experience of slowly losing your mind. Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani turn in the most intense performances of their careers, something they themselves have admitted. While watching it, I was thinking how exhausting it must have been to do these scenes over and over again, but the results are on screen for all to see. There’s times where the actors go way over the top, the most notable example being the subway sequence, where Adjani overreacts so ridiculously that even Nicolas Cage would be telling her to tone it down. It’s not a mental breakdown, its a parody of a mental breakdown. Some parts of it are hard to take seriously for this reason, and the film loses steam towards the end, as if the director has used up all his good ideas but still had time to fill. But the majority of it is a compelling and intense character study of a couple at odds, unsure of how to process their emotions and taking everything out on each other. It’s not a film I’d be keen to rewatch, but watching it is certainly a unique experience, so that’s something to be appreciated. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/27/24 Full Review DanTheMan 2 While Possession is certainly one-of-a-kind, I can't help but ultimately feel rather disappointed upon viewing, a confusing drama of murder, horror and intrigue, though it's all attractively directed. Andrzej Żuławski channels his personal heartbreak into primal horror, an overwhelmingly messy and gruelling watch even after it deals its hand. Its imaginative plot about the disintegration of marriage via eldrich horror is often overshadowed by stilted dialogue and unintentionally laughable performance from Isabelle Adjani. It's overly exaggerated with rarely a moment of cohesion, every movement feels like a convulsion, every reaction an explosion, every interaction a fight, every line of dialogue a scream. It gets tiresome very quickly. Sam Niel was my bright spot; I could watch him in anything, he commits to the film's ridiculousness and turns it into brilliance. The lack of incidental music further heightened the film's rough pacing, despite the lovely camerawork. Ultimately Possession is an oddly engrossing, energetic and bracing experience that takes no prisoners but is equally bizarrely funny in a bad way. Mark did nothing wrong. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/18/24 Full Review Ray M Wow! This movie is a must see for everybody. At first, it was a little slow and I didn’t enjoy it much but as it progressed it started to blow my mind. The acting is superb the creature Was amazing I was told that 90 minutes were cut from the film. I wish I could see it and it’s entirety one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/16/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Possession

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Movie Info

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
Most Popular at Home Now