With Late Night with the Devil having been such a hit in the horror world these last few weeks, it’s had me pondering on the eternally popular possession horror – from The Exorcist to, well, the other Exorcist, it’s a genre that always seems to have a spot in every era of horror cinema. And with good reason – the notion of being consumed by something monstrous from the inside out is not only unsettling on a literal level, but works on so many metaphorical ones, too. There are so many fantastic examples of the genre (and you’re welcome to drop your recommendations in the comments!), so here are a few of our favourites that we think deserve more love!
Verónica
Directed by Paco Plaza, co-creator of the fantastic REC series, Verónica is already coming to you with some seriously impressive pedigree to its name – not to mention some (slightly spurious) claims of being based on a true story, too. This Spanish horror is a deeply atmospheric horror that follows Verónica (an incandescently good Sandra Escacena), a teenager who becomes consumed by an evil spirit after using a ouija board. Pretty standard stuff for the genre, but Plaza throws it all at the wall (quite literally) in an intense and profoundly disturbing third act that goes as hard as you would expect anything from the REC team to. It’s a classic take on the genre, polished to near-perfection.
Possessor
For a slightly different spin on the genre, Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor makes for an interesting and very literal riff on all things possession horror. Andrea Riseborough (my beloved) plays an assassin who takes possession on other people’s bodies in order to carry out her hits, leading to a spiralling mess of questions about identity, reality, and bodily autonomy. It’s as gross and gruesome as you would expect from the house of Cronenberg, filling out an impressive and engaging sci-fi world as it confronts audiences with the terrifying question: what would happen if Jennifer Jason Leigh was your boss?
May The Devil Take You
2018 Indonesian horror May The Devil Take You is as much as horror of possession as it is of, well, nearly everything else – body, family, trauma, real estate, there’s nothing director Timo Tjahjanto left off the table for this one. An uneasy inter-personal drama unfolds after the mysterious death of a family’s patriarch, swiftly followed by the far more pressing drama of, you know, a violent and monstrous deal struck with a mysterious witch decades before who’s now ready to collect on what she’s owed. Great real affects and brilliant performances elevate this into the highest-quality pulp, and the very solid sequel, May The Devil Take You Too is well worth checking out as well.
What are your favourite possession-centric horror movies? Let us know in the comments!
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By Lou MacGregor
(header image via IMDB)
No But Listen 