10 Horror Movies Way Darker Than Advertised

Brandon Cronenberg movies always revel in dark subject matter, but Possessor still caught everyone by surprise when it dropped in 2020. The trailer gave little away, simply explaining that we were in for a psychological thriller about killers who inhabit the minds and bodies of other people to take out their targets.

It was an awesome trailer, but one that revelled more in the weirdness of the story than the darkness of it. This was ultimately a smart move, as Possessor's surprise mean streak only made it more impactful.

On the one hand, this is a violent movie. Audiences are subjected to a lot of blood, and even a couple mutilations here and there. On the other hand, it's also incredibly frank and uncomfortable in its depiction of sexuality, with one extended sequence showing a man spying on a couple having full-frontal sex. It's explicit in a way horror movies often aren't, and it makes you itch.

The themes of identity give way to the darkest content though. Our protagonist's struggle to maintain a sense of self while inhabiting the bodies of so many people leads the audience down twisted avenues, and eventually to a climax that's brutally devastating.