Summary
Robert Pattinson is working on a remake of the fan-favorite 1981 cult horror moviePossession, and I’m worried this remake will tone down the original film’s signature weirdness. The originalPossession, written and directed by Andrzej Żuławski, is infamously one of the most disturbing movies ever made; in the UK, it gained notoriety as one of the coveted “video nasties.”Possessionuses the trope of demonic possession as a metaphor to explore the fractures in the marriage of an international spy, played by Sam Neill, and his long-suffering wife, played by Isabelle Adjani.
Pattinson is attached to produce aPossessionremakethat will reportedly be written and directed by Parker Finn. The project has yet to be snapped up by a studio, but it has generated a lot of interest in Tinseltown. Studios including A24, Warner Bros., and Netflix are caught in a bidding war for thePossessionremake. But as a fan of the original, this remake concerns me.Possessionis such a unique piece of horror cinema – and such a uniquely unsettling viewing experience – that I’m worried a Hollywood remake won’t be able to do it justice.
Robert Pattinson’s Possession Remake Is Based On A Wild Cult-Favorite Horror Movie
Possession is one of the most notorious horror movies ever made
Anyone who sees this news and hasn’t seenthe banned originalPossessionmight assume that Pattinson is making a movie likeThe ExorcistorThe Conjuring. ButPossessionis nowhere near as conventional as that;it’s as much of a gut-wrenching psychological drama as it is a supernatural horror movie. All the film’s paranormal elements are there to support the marital strife between Mark and his wife, Anna. Once Anna asks for a divorce, strange things start happening to the couple. The genius of the movie is that it uses its supernatural storyline to complement the relationship drama.
The most iconic moment from the original (recently homaged inThe First Omen’s scariest moment) is when Anna is tormented by demonic spirits on her way out of a subway station. In a long, continuous take that creates a sense of documentary-like realism, Anna writhes around, seemingly out of her control. Adjani’s performance in this scene has gone down as the most shocking and memorable on-screen portrayal of demonic possession – even more shocking and memorable than Linda Blair’s turn inThe Exorcist. Whoever takes on the Adjani role in Pattinson’sPossessionremake will have some pretty hefty shoes to fill.
Pattinson isn’t confirmed to star in thePossessionremake, but he hasn’t ruled it out either.
Possession’s Remake Can’t Afford To Tone Down The Original’s Weirdness
They can’t Hollywood-ize Possession
The remake ofPossessionneeds to avoid toning down the film’s signature surrealness in an attempt to reach a wider audience. On its initial release,Possessionproved to be so controversial that it was heavily edited before it could be released in the United States.Now that the U.S. is making its own version ofPossession, I’m worried history will repeat itselfand it’ll get ridiculously toned down for mass consumption. If they’re committed to remakingPossession, then they need to really go for it and make a movie that’s just as out there and unabashedly weird as Żuławski’s original.
FromThe RingtoLet Me IntoSuspiria, American remakes of international horror classics tend to smooth out the original’s edges and replace their idiosyncrasies with familiar clichés. If this happens with thePossessionredo, then it’ll end up being just another forgettable horror remake. But if it leans into the weirdness of Żuławski’s original movie, it could be something really special.
Possession’s Director Makes The Remake Even More Exciting
The director of Smile is working on the Possession remake
The fact that Pattinson is collaborating with Parker Finn is a good sign for thePossessionremake. Finn introduced himself as one of the most exciting new voices in the horror genre with his hit supernatural thrillerSmilein 2022.Smilewas a truly unnerving horror movie that used its terrifying paranormal tropes to explore its protagonist’s psychology. Finn took a similar approach toSmilethat Żuławski took to the originalPossession:just as the monsters inPossessionare a metaphor for marital troubles, the monsters inSmileare a metaphor for trauma.
Of course,Smileisn’t a perfect movie; I do have some concerns that the faults ofSmilecould ruin thePossessionremake.Smilehad a rushed ending, a predictable final twist, and it relied heavily on jump scares. They were effective jump scares – very well-crafted and carefully built up to – but the film had an abundance of jump scares, and that would be bad for thePossessionremake. Using too many jump scares would turn this unique experiment in horror cinema into another typical spook-fest. Hopefully, Finn will pare back the jump scares in his approach to thePossessionremake.
Possession
Cast
Possession is a horror-drama film by director Andrzej Żuławski that was released in 1981. The film follows international spy Mark, who returns home only for his wife to divorce him and leave him for another man. The triangle between the three grows increasingly violent, but the truth behind Anna goes deeper and darker than any of them realize.
