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Possessor

2020

Brandon Cronenberg

Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbott, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sean Bean ...

6.0

3,974

Sci-Fi. Horror. Thriller Possessor centers on Tasya Vos (Riseborough), an agent for a secretive organization who uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people’s bodies, driving them to commit assassinations for the benefit of high-paying clients. But something goes wrong on a routine job, and Tasya soon finds herself trapped in the mind of an unwitting suspect (Abbott) whose appetite for violence turns out to rival her own.

	Author	Review
United Kingdom	Wendy Ide Screendaily	"[It] is ultra stylish and uber violent, but, despite a top tier cast, it’s not always entirely clear what is going on and who is in control of the finger on the trigger."	NEU
United States	John DeFore The Hollywood Reporter	"With sympatico lead performances from up-and-comers Andrea Riseborough and Christopher Abbott, the film should carry its director much farther than his 2012 debut 'Antiviral' did."	POS
United States	Chris Evangelista SlashFilm	"There will no doubt be plenty of viewers appalled and repulsed at what Cronenberg has created here, and that’s fine. Possessor is not a film for everyone. And that’s what makes it so special and exciting."	POS
United States	Elizabeth Weitzman The Wrap	"It’s so well crafted that it’s likely to make a lot of other Sundance films feel relatively amateurish. But as both writer and director, Cronenberg focuses so intently on the surface that he neglects to include enough substance."	NEU
United States	David Ehrlich IndieWire	"90 minutes of Andrea Riseborough and Christopher Abbott engaging in ultra-gory psychic warfare (...) is more satisfying than what most of the current Best Picture nominees have to offer"	POS
United States	Robert Daniels The Playlist	"A bloody existential fever dream that, at its best, is unnerving and thrilling, and, at its worst, is tiring and misbegotten."	NEU
United States	Meagan Navarro Bloody Disgusting	"But for those that love cerebral thrillers with practical gore, wrapped up in a stimulating sci-fi package, this is a must (…) Rating: ★★★★½ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Peter Debruge Variety	"It shows Brandon Cronenberg to be a writer-director with ideas and a way of executing them that’s distinctly his own"	POS
United States	Noel Murray Los Angeles Times	"Cronenberg has a lot of high-minded ideas, but he grounds them in human behavior and has found the right humans to tell his story"	POS
Canada	Andrew Parker The Gate	"Although every scene of Cronenberg’s latest looks elegantly composed (...) and the leads are well suited to the filmmaker’s icy stylistic choices, 'Possessor' is a rather empty film to sit through (…) Rating: ★★½ (out of 5)"	NEU
United States	Sheila O'Malley rogerebert.com	"'Possessor' is always interesting to watch, but there's something missing, a clarity of focus and intent (…) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"	NEU

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