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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Possessor (2020) in Movies

Dec 4, 2020

Possessor (2020)

2020 | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

7.4

(5 Ratings)

Movie Rating

From the mind of Brandon Cronenberg comes his second feature length, Possessor, and the best way I could sum it up is that it's a subtle assault on the senses. Although it occasionally throws unsettling imagery at the screen now and again, these moments are seldom and fleeting. The main assault comes from the constant sense of dread that is present from it's visually striking and bloody opening, straight through to it's pretty insane climax. I just felt on edge consistently, thanks to the minimal but forboding score, top notch editing on display, and some quite brilliant performances.

Andrea Riseborough is great, as she was in Mandy, and her presence in modern horror is a welcome one. Her character is the overarching glue that holds all the emotional strains of the plot together with a cold core.
Christopher Abbott is wonderful, as he essentially plays two seperate characters, and sells his descent into madness perfectly.
The supporting cast include the likes of Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tuppence Middleton, and Sean Bean, and it's honestly just a pretty solid cast all around.

The plot is intriguing in a dystopian sci-fi kind of way, and has enough horror elements to really get under the skin. The scene that the already recognisable poster image is taken from is one of the most recoil inducing and uncomfortable scenes I've seen in a while. This premise played out with a decent screenplay, accompanied by sudden bursts of extreme violence, give Possessor an identity of it's own, and make it a modern horror entry that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the big boys.

One of the films of the year for me!

Kudos

Kristina (502 KP) rated Verum (The Nocte Trilogy, #2) in Books

Dec 7, 2020

I'm not crazy. I haven't been diagnosed with being mentally insane. I don't hear voices inside my head and I don't hallucinate. At least, I don't think so. After reading Verum, I don't know what to think anymore. Is this real? Am I real? What are we? Courtney Cole has me spiraling in a deep pit of unending madness and I don't think I can claw my way out. When Nocte was finished, I was curious to find out what Dare's secret was, but I felt stable - finally. Then I read Verum. I felt like I was becoming insane, as if the insanity of the Savage's home was transmitting from the pages and straight into my brain. I couldn't keep up and just when I thought I was, everything would crumble and I'd have to rebuild. From the beginning, things were shaky and weird, but as the book progressed, I literally felt my sanity slipping. Calla walked me through a roller coaster of emotions that ended up with one same feeling: crazy. I felt psychotic. Literally. Mystery after mystery, lie after lie, revelation after revelation. I didn't know what was real and what was a figment of Calla's imagination. I still don't know if I should believe any of what I just read. Courtney has made me question my existence. I'm a little afraid to read Initium and then Lux. No, scratch that, I'm terrified. The worst part? As frustrated as I am at not knowing the full story or being able to understand the full picture, I absolutely love it. Guess that makes me certifiable. I'm insane.

Kudos

Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated M (Movie) (1931) in Movies

Jan 28, 2021

The maestro of dark shadows, Fritz Lang already had 14 feature films under his belt by 1931, including the much loved and much borrowed from Metropolis in 1927. It is said that he was such a slave driver with cast and crew alike that he had very few friends and was detested as a man. His work spoke for itself, however, and was always miles ahead of anything happening at the same time in Hollywood. Take the dark, sinister and serious M as an example. It tackles the subject of child abduction and murder, homelessness, crime in general and the punishment of a mob – subjects American cinema would never have touched in 1931, let alone done with such an exquisite non- melodramatic feel.

Peter Lorre as the killer compelled by his own weakness and madness gives an unfeasably nuanced performance for the era also. He is mesmerically creepy and unforgettable. Images and motifs (such as the whistle that indicates the murderer is lurking) abound, creating a landscape of pure mood and disease. As a morality tale it touches on issues of vigilantism and true justice that still has some relevance today. It also works as an entertaining thriller, and there wasn’t a minute I felt bored or distracted. The only jarring element are the scenes where Lang cuts the sound entirely to create tension and focus – they feel like technical mistakes, not deliberate choices. Otherwise, I could not have been more impressed and pleasantly surprised by this Euro classic for all time. If I were making a list of the best films ever made that disregarded the limitations of the age, then M would definitely make the cut.