With an incredible Rotten Tomatoes score of 94%, Possessor is director Brandon Cronenberg’s best film yet and is bound to become a cult classic in the future. Cronenberg shocked viewers with his last movie, 2023’s Infinity Pool. The cast of Infinity Pool, including Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgård, delivers stunning and horrifying performances in the disturbing body horror film that marks the director’s third feature film in the genre. Not only does Mia Goth feel that Infinity Pool deserves awards, but the film’s highly successful run in theaters also clearly proves that there is an audience for this brand of body horror.
While Infinity Pool also has an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 87%, it isn’t the best of Brandon Cronenberg’s movies. That тιтle still belongs to the director’s sophomore feature, which was released 5 years ago, amidst the COVID pandemic. While it performed well in home media, the film’s popularity prompted a screening alongside Infinity Pool in 2023, in its uncut form, so fans could experience Possessor in theaters.
Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor Is A Future Sci-Fi Cult Classic
It is disturbing and intriguing enough to earn a niche following
Cult classics aren’t rare in the horror or sci-fi genres. Brandon Cronenberg’s father, David Cronenberg, whose taste for sci-fi body horror seems to have been inherited by his son, has had his films re-evaluated in recent years. One of his best films, The Thing, which will always be a classic horror movie, wasn’t considered so iconic when it came out, but is celebrated as one of the greatest horror movies today. While Brandon Cronenberg isn’t similarly dismissed, that could be the consequence of living in an age when body horror as a genre is both more appreciated and respected.
Possessor premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020.
However, Possessor, as a movie, has all the traits one wants in a future cult classic. It isn’t easy on the eyes, it makes you think for hours after the credits have finished rolling, it uses a terrifying premise to allude to a real-life experience, memorable performances, and it has eternal relevance due to its subject matter. Possessor follows a corporate ᴀssᴀssin who uses brain implants to control others, but eventually starts losing her grip on reality while working on a particularly demanding ᴀssignment.
Andrea Riseborough is horrifying throughout, but the standout performance comes from Gage Graham during the film’s taxing opening sequence. Since Possessor is a rumination on the lives of people who succumb to corporate greed or feel stuck in corporate jobs, it has mᴀss appeal, but since its treatment of the subject is in the form of sci-fi body horror, it will eventually become a cult classic. Moreover, it has special effects that every new generation of horror and sci-fi film buffs will love to analyze and deconstruct, much like we do with the cult classics from the ’80s and ’90s.
Possessor Is The Best Of Brandon Cronenberg’s 3 Sci-Fi Horror Movies
It is the best showcase of the director’s talents
One of Brandon Cronenberg’s earliest films is the 2008 short film, Broken Tulips, which demonstrates clearly the director’s ability to translate his vision into powerful cinematic visuals and his ability to conceive of unique concepts. He later turned it into a feature film, Antiviral, which put him on the map for its impressive exploration of celebrity culture and for not shying away from portraying full-fledged body horror shenanigans. Antiviral currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 65%, putting it at the bottom of Cronenberg’s feature films in terms of critical reception.
Possessor has the best subject of all of Cronenberg’s films.
While the premise is great, Antiviral doesn’t have the same level of polish as Cronenberg’s later films. Infinity Pool is a stunning exploration of the role of consequences in shaping people’s morality. With a great subject and cast, the film’s exhibition of gore and mutilation is disturbing and powerful. However, Possessor has the best subject of all of Cronenberg’s films, and the best editing. The special effects will leave you reeling long after the film is over, and Possessor, the best of Cronenberg’s and Neon’s horror movies, is the most effective of his three feature films at making viewers uncomfortable.
