3. Possession (1981)
Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani give fevered performances (as one does in a Zulawski film) as Mark and Anna whose marriage is going dreadfully awry. They have a separation - Mark obsesses over Anna and whether she is seeing a man. Anna just has one long extended nervous breakdown over the course of the film, mutilating herself at one point in the neck with an electric knife. Mark hires a private investigator to follow her and she gives birth to a giant mutated monster in some very unsavoury scenes. It is hysteria a go go to the end which packs some nasty, and pretty weird punches. This is not my favourite film of Zulawski's but in terms of direction, production and execution, it stands miles above the rest of the Video Nasties. It is not a seedy horror movie like so many on the DPP 72 list, it is more of a harrowing psychodrama that will zap your strength after you watch it. Adjani in particular gives an extraordinary performance as Anna - her tics, screams, shrieks - her performance starts off in turbo and is like a juggernaut right up to and including the very end. The title - Possession - is a very apt description of the state of Anna during the film. A portrait of a failed marriage, Zulawski really explores the motives of why people fall apart and how obsession can destroy you. Possession has no business being on the Video Nasty hit list. It is very much an art house film that some over zealous joker in the establishment got their knickers in a twist over. Released uncut in 1991 on VHS, Possession was finally accessible, and it has a big cult following.