It's been another incredible year thus far for Blu-ray and 4K UHD releases. For your humble host, notable releases include Grindhouse Releasing's completely stacked Lucio Fulci masterpiece The Beyond (1981), Arrow films' highly desired Sergio Leone Dollars Trilogy (1966 - 1968), and Hammer entering the boutique foray with Brian Clemens's Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974) (given the relaunched company's Doctor Jekyll (2023) flopped hard in cinemas, I don't really blame them). But the icing on the proverbial cake, for many, might very well be Second Sight's forthcoming release of Andrzej Żuławski's art-house horror Possession (1981) being released this December. The UK home distribution company initially announced the film's release over two years ago. Therefore, it's become a hotly anticipated title amongst cinephiles, collectors and greedy scalpers eager to flip it.
Truth be told, Possession is a film too surreal and ambiguous to completely define by even the brainiest film analysts. However, a short and general description would suggest it being about the psychological turmoil of a marriage falling apart; becoming horror manifest with some disturbing scenes. Thematically similar to David Cronenberg's The Brood (1979); which itself, served as an allegory to the bitter breakup the Canadian auteur had recently undergone. Żuławski had the benefit of shooting in the fractured city of Cold War era Berlin, adding to the film's central theme and creating a cold and captivating back drop in the process. The Polish director also managed to amass two career defining performances out of his two leads, Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani. The experience left them both emotionally wrecked, and in the case of Adjani, she was left feeling suicidal.
Possession is often listed as one of the greatest films of all time amongst film critics, cinephiles and turd wave feminists. Call me a philistine, but despite its quality, it wouldn't get a spot in my ten favourite horror films released that very same year:
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