The “Possessor" is a sci-fi thriller film released in 2021, also known as "The Parasite Killer", directed by Brandon Cronenberg and starring actors Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbott, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. The plot is about an assassin Vos who can manipulate people by invading their brains to carry out assassination missions. Although experienced, the pressure that has gradually accumulated over the years and the impact it has had on Although experienced, but over the years the accumulated pressure and the mental shock, but also led her on a mission accidentally out of control, trapped in a man's head, and lost the knowledge of self-identity.
The creative ingenuity of shifting consciousness
We all have a certain degree of knowledge and imagination about secret agent spy movies, whether it is the tradition of "James Bond: Flawless to Death", the emphasis on cool entertainment "Fast and Furious 9", "The Secret Service" which focuses on the plot level, or "Agent Bean 3" and "OK Boss Lady" which go for comedy style, all create multiple innovative variations with different genres, and this time "The Possessor" is no exception, combining science fiction and suspense Thriller genre, to bring a special experience to fans.
Background of "The Possessor”
In the opening scene of "The Possessor" movie, a black woman inserted some kind of sensor connector in the top of her head for calibration, then went to a party with a knife, without saying a word about a dignitary's neck a burst of slashing, after successfully killing the target she picked up the pistol prepared in advance to kill herself, but because of hesitation and was shot down by the police who came. Looking at the same time another woman awakened from a deep sleep, and it turns out that this is a planned killing operation, "The Possessor" this opening instantly makes people interested in this film.
The main character Vos, played by Andrea Riseborough, is a secret agent killer, but the special thing is that the English title of the film "Possessor" is also a direct translation of "Possessor", as the name suggests, does not need to be like James Bond needs to go out many fields to In the future, with the assistance of high technology, she only needs to be able to remotely control her doppelganger in the laboratory to kill the target designated by her employer, as in the case of "Wanted" to complete the task unnoticed. However, "The Possessor" seems to be risk-free, but in fact, there may be problems that we cannot predict in advance.
The special features of “The Possessor”
According to the instructions from his client, Vos must enter the body of a man named Tate and manipulate him to kill his girlfriend's father, who is the founder of the group, and his girlfriend, who is the heir. Under the strong sci-fi setting of the "Possessor" movie, they not only have to find the opportunity to kidnap the host beforehand and implant a receiving device in his head, but Vos must also spend time understanding the host's daily life and lie in the chamber that can transmit consciousness and monitor vital signs during the assassination mission to ensure that everything is safe and smooth.
In terms of actual implementation, "Possessor" starts with the gradual dissolution of the main character Vos's skin appearance, and then reconstructs the image of the host Tate's appearance to present the possible feelings and pains during the whole process of consciousness transfer, and after she successfully replaces Tate's consciousness, she tries to adjust the man's body and live a life that is not intertwined with hers, waiting for the time to be able to start action, so that The whole process and the description of the state the character is in, all give "The Possessor" the whole movie a rather fascinating atmosphere look.
Is "The Possessor" good?
However, just like the opening credits of "The Possessor", Vos suddenly hesitates when preparing to commit suicide, and although she finally succeeds in breaking away, it also brings some after-effects to her as the controller of the "far side", the interesting thing about "The Possessor" is that as Vos' mental condition becomes unstable, the well-planned mission The whole "Possessor" movie is interesting because as Vos' mental condition becomes unstable, the well-planned mission goes wrong and things that could have been mastered gradually become out of control.
Since the use of entering someone's body and replacing his consciousness to carry out a mission will originally bring different degrees of impact on the memory and spirit of the manipulator, the "Possessor" must carry out a rigorous test after each mission to determine whether there is a residual memory of the host's personality back to the manipulator's head, and this backlash is very scary.
The theme of "The Possessor" plot
So although the protagonist of "The Possessor", Vos, still succeeded in her mission, without the police killing her, she failed to disconnect because she could not commit suicide, not only making her trapped in the body of this man, but in the case of Tate's consciousness to take away control of the body, but also let Tate, who was supposed to be planted as a murderer, to run around the streets, trying to stimulate Vos' Tate also let Tate, who was supposed to be planted as a murderer, run around the streets in an attempt to stimulate Vos's memory, find the person behind the murder and take revenge on Vos.
Although she is a mother, there is an unexplainable rift between Vos and her family. Even though she yearns for love in her heart, she is unable to give herself a sense of security in her family and has visions of killing her target like post-traumatic stress syndrome, and the lingering guilt and shadow inside her makes the side effects of her invasion of other people's consciousness more and more serious. In the second half of the story of "The Possessor", Tate came to Vos's house and faced the threat to his family's life, Vos's perverse state of mind also made the whole movie of "The Possessor" quite interesting.
The reversal of the ending of "The Possessor”
I like the amazing reversal of the ending of "The Possessor", in which Vos and Tate are both aware of the existence of a body at the same time, and in a way this revenge action is also Vos' own "Possessor's mission", using the hatred driven by Tate's heart to kill her husband and son with someone else's body. This can be interpreted as a kind of confusion and identity she faced within herself, to find a more authentic and pure self, the process of cutting off family ties and attachments.
The most obvious proof of this is the test at the end of "The Possessor", where Vos looks at the butterfly specimen she killed as a child and no longer feels guilty about it as she did at the beginning of the film, showing that she has passed this mission and become closer to her nature as an ace killer without any worries, and has gained a spiritual "growth "The final truth of The Possessor
The final truth of "The Possessor”
I believe that after watching "The Possessor" the audience will have a question, the final one back in Vos's body is Vos or Tate's consciousness? I think it's more of a combination of both consciousnesses. As Tate said to Vos's husband: "Imagine if your wife had been infected by a parasite while shoveling kitty litter and changed the thoughts in her head, would she still be the same? And are you married to the wife or the bug?" Even if this "Vos" has all the memories of Vos, it is not the original her. Is this good or bad? It depends on each person's interpretation.
Conclusion of "The Possessor" Review
As the son of director David Cronenberg, who is known for his physical horror, director Brandon Cronenberg continues his father's creative aesthetic with consciousness and violence, using human skin to represent people's appearance and a narrative technique that intertwines reality and reality to depict the state of confusion between the shifting consciousness and the character's inner confusion. It is very interesting to see the state of the characters' inner confusion and the successful construction of this science-fiction worldview, although the pace of the film is a bit slow, it is still a work worthy of recognition.
