10 MORE Great Horror Movies (Nobody Ever Talks About)

5. Possession

American Mary
Gaumont

In Possession, an international spy called Mark (played by a pre-fame Sam Neill) returns to Berlin to learn his wife, Anna, is leaving him. Because there was no problems with their marriage until this point, Mark suspects there's an underlying issue behind his wife's actions. Although he initially assumes she's having an affair, he soon suspects Anna's mind is under the control of a nebulous entity.

As can be expected from Andrzej Zulawski's work, the acting is visceral and the underlying mystery keeps viewers enraptured. However, it's the filmmaker's lucid and unpredictable direction that ensures every scene leaves you squirming out of discomfort.

If you were unfamiliar with Zulawski's work, you may assume Possession will be a straight-forward Exorcist clone, based on the title, posters, and the trailer. But upon watching this psychological drama, you'll be confused why you haven't heard of Possession sooner, not just because of its quality, but by how disturbing the story is. Without spoiling anything, Possession is filled with such unsettling content, it's bewildering why it never stirred up a controversy.

Because Possession leaves a lot of details up to interpretation, it's one of those films that people still discuss and debate over, even after 40 years.

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows