Possessor

It has been several leap years since David Cronenberg has touched "body horror," much to the chagrin of weird cinephiles everywhere (no judgment; I'm including present company).  Well, my fellow weirdos, fret no more.  The abstruse auteur has a son, and predictably enough, this dude nails the cold, intellectual sub-subgenre that his father made infamous.  2020's Possessor redefines "high-concept."  You'll have to hold my hand during this synopsis.  A plain-looking woman named Vos is employed as a contract killer, only she doesn't do the killing.  With the assistance of extremely Cronenbergian technology, she "becomes" someone else (my apologies for the excessive use of quotation marks).  Are you still holding my hand?

Vos possesses the mind and body of Colin Tate, a servile drudge stuck in a thankless job that requires him to spy on people and describe their furniture.  I'm not joking.  One case finds him recounting the blinds and curtains behind an amorous couple.  "Grommet pleat," he outlines as they grind in venereal bliss.  Have I mentioned that this is a strange film?  At any rate, Vos's assignment is to clash with his boss, murder his girlfriend (the boss's daughter), and finally, commit suicide.  Needless to say, there is more to the story, but I'm only human.  Brandon Cronenberg, on the other hand...eh, the jury's out.

I should note right up front that Brandon is capably dexterous behind the camera.  I was also bedazzled by Matthew Hannam's purposeful editing that doesn't leave anything to chance.  Blink and you will literally miss something.  Back to Brandon.  He relays visual information in such a way that it doesn't overwhelm the viewer.  Possessor isn't just a string of plot points, however.  There is a certain warmth to his characters that is frankly missing from The Brood and Dead Ringers, as much as I love dear ol' Dad's track record.  Before your plonker recedes into your pelvis, I'm not trying to suggest that he's a better director than David fucking Cronenberg.  Calm down.

The cast is pliable.  Folks like Christopher Abbott and a nearly unrecognizable Jennifer Jason Leigh had to be able to express a wide array of emotions in incredibly awkward scenarios (Abbott more so), and it shouldn't surprise you to learn that they triumphed in their respective roles.  On the special effects front, they are beautifully gruesome.  Certain shots are downright objectionable.  CGI could have been used as a crutch, but I didn't spot much digital frippery.  Yeah, I think I loved Possessor.  And not for nothing, but the final line of the script is ingenious.  Stream this sumbitch pronto.  I do believe that it's available on Amazon Prime, so unless you have a dial-up modem, you have no excuse.