"Possession" is a film that transports the linear between reality and pure madness, with dozens of allegories, metaphors, sublime performances and precise direction, the Polish Andrzej Zulawski does almost a cinematic / psychological experiment. Focused on a screenplay, which in the foreground looks something very mundane, the film develops with a psychological apprehension, seen the depression of the character Mark and his lack of moral sense that is created when he discovers that he is being betrayed, soon in the first minutes of film, and on the other hand we have Anna, who is completely out of her mind, and with the course of the film is only getting worse, with psychotic deaf, bipolar syndromes, etc. The family drama at first is what causes the horror in the film, until we discover the monster to which Anna relates, and when the supernatural element comes by surprise in the film, in the best Stephen King style, you start to question and make reflections about everything that will already come here in the film. The monster can be interpreted as the materialization of the relationship of the couple, the deaf can be interpreted as the duality of thought in the head of the woman, between being a mother or indulging in pleasure, since Anna's character is apparently nymphomaniac, little-quoted but present, we have the social context of Germany in the early 80's, which ultimately influences the film and even make the viewer conjecture bizarre theories, since the wall was still standing. Technically the film is great, and the first thing that makes the most attentive viewer to film in the film is its Camera angles, with many long planes, and even the sequential planes, the camera direction of this film is perfect, even moments at which the film is harmed by repetitions of ideas is saved by the beautiful camera framing, always aiming to show the environment, with open or closed plans, exploring the loneliness or madness of each character, another notable point in the film is its track sounding, sneaky but perfect, it does not come to bother or scare, as the track of a good horror movie should do, but the trail helps to punctuate the mood of the film. Isabelle Yasmine Adjani and Sam Neil are more than perfect, they are perfect, they captivate, enchant, denubland and live with passion and finesse their characters. "Possession" is not a perfect movie, it tries to create mysteries and makes references within its idea that often go unnoticed at first glance, in addition to a gore half trash for a serious movie, but anyway, "Possession" by Andrzej Zulawsk is a little commenting film, but it is an excellent artistic expression of cinema

After finding this on a "Top 10 Body Horror Films" list, I decided to give this movie a go, based on the scant few images I managed to find online.The general idea is about a married man who is having problems with a unfaithful wife, who appears to be slowly going more and more insane as the film goes on. It actually isn't until well over halfway through the film that the movie ever actually takes on any sort of aspect that is even remotely similar to any sort of horror film. And as soon as it does, it makes no sense whatsoever, which includes the ending. Long winded, boring, this are just a few words I use to describe this film. The pacing is awful, the writing is awful, even the actors are awful. I can't believe I wasted my time watching this film.

I really cannot understand those who rate The Possession so highly. I have just watched it and have been utterly bored throughout. All you see is this couple screaming and shouting at each other, not to mention behaving rather oddly in other ways too. You would not think this was meant to be a "horror" movie; more like a tedious, slow, borefest.

The marriage between Mark (Sam Neill) and his French wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani) is crumbling. Anna is having an open affair with Heinrich (Heinz Bennent), blaming Mark's elongated time spent away for his work (an undisclosed spying mission he is trying to walk away from). Their unfortunate child, and the most stable character, is Bob (Michael Hogben), caught between the increasing madness and paranoia of his drifting parents. It's apparent that the child's presence keeps Mark and Anna more grounded than would otherwise be the case, for when he is out playing, or at school, increasingly violent hysteria ensues.Through a private investigator, Mark discovers his wife has a second apartment in the rundown side of town. When the investigator discovers a slimy, living organism in the apartment, Anna glasses him. Events spiral further into rich absurdity and madness and with that, 'Possession' lurches confidently into uncategorisable territory. It is also the most enjoyable and refreshing horror film I have seen in a long time.Conversations are replaced with intense dramatic exchanges involving characters forever at the end of their tether, frenzied even from the outset. The direction comprises of shots that give the actors space to do their thing, and what intense performances are unleashed! Often shot in cool blue colours, this was filmed entirely on location in cinematically drizzly Berlin.Director Andrzej Żuławski wrote this whilst going through a divorce, which might well have contributed to the fraught emotions exhibited by the characters.Each time we see the organism, it increasingly exhibits human shape until ultimately, it assumes Mark's appearance (as well as the sexual attentions of Anna). In a bid to outdo even its own outlandishness, I feel the ending is ultimately slightly disappointing – however it cannot be easy to bring a satisfying closure to such an outlandish and shocking series of events.Meeting with disappointing sales on its release, 'Possession' was banned by the usual feint UK hearts as a 'video nasty' yet has assumed cult status. It also won Isabelle Adjani multiple awards for best actress for her astonishing performance. As it is, every performance is astonishing, from Bennent's passionate portrayal of the flamboyant Heinrich, to juvenile's Hogben's commendable playing of Bob.