Red band trailer for Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor teases a NSFW nightmare

They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. And when that family tree bears the name Cronenberg, that apple tends to be a gory mess twisted beyond sanity. That is definitely true for Possessor, the new film from Brandon “I’m the son of David” Cronenberg which appears to be his body horror magnum opus. Or, if you’re squeamish, a magnum nope-us!

The film, which follows Andrea Riseborough as “a corporate agent who uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people’s bodies”, made a huge splash at the Sundance Film Festival earlier in the year. The overwhelming sentiment from those who saw it basically fell into two camps: either “HOLY CRAP! THIS FILM IS A MASTERPIECE! YOU’RE NOT READY!” or “HOLY CRAP! THIS FILM IS A NIGHTMARE! YOU’RE NOT READY!”. Basically, we’re not ready.

And now we have a taste of what we’re not ready for thanks to the first Red Band trailer that dropped giving us a glimpse of the horrors Cronenberg has cooked up. This trailer is apparently only barely skimming the surface of the unhinged craziness Possessor brings to the table, but it’s still NSFW.

Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough) is a corporate agent who uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people’s bodies, driving them to commit assassinations for the benefit of the company. While she has a special gift for the work, her experiences on these jobs have caused a dramatic change in her, and in her own life, she struggles to suppress violent memories and urges. As her mental strain intensifies, she begins to lose control, and soon she finds herself trapped in the mind of a man (Christopher Abbott) whose identity threatens to obliterate her own.

Okay then. I wasn’t planning on sleeping tonight anyway.

Possessor also stars Rossif Sutherland, Tuppence Middleton, Sean Bean, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It is scheduled for release sometime later this year, but an exact date has not been locked down yet.

Last Updated: July 17, 2020