20 Best Cult Movies Of The 1980s

20. Possession

Andrzej Żuławski's Possession is a deceptive horror movie. Much like films such as From Dusk Til Dawn and Kill List, it sets out in a different genre before switching into a shocking horror which sneaks up out of the blue. Like Kill List, you'd be forgiven for thinking Possession is a marital drama, if you judged it only from the first hour or so.

Exploring the crumbling relationship between a spy (Sam Neill) and his wife (the incredible Isabelle Adjani), Possession's attention to the details of a marriage on the rocks has seen it likened to the films of Ingmar Bergman, notably Scenes From A Marriage. But when a private investigator hired by the husband discovers a dank apartment with a dark secret within, Possession shifts gears completely.

The Lovecraftian feel to the horror elements of Possession are perfectly realised, and Żuławski's understanding of the psychological deterioration of his characters - and how this decline is amplified by subplots involving political intrigue and occult occurrences - has justified Possession's entry into the canon of classic cult 1980s horror films.

Special mention goes to Adjani for her central performance (not least a scene in a subway in which she emits a seemingly endless amount of monstrous discharge), which earned her the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1981.