A remake of Andrzej Żuławski’s 1981 psychological horror movie Possession is on the way from Smile writer/director Parker Finn, but it’s tough to imagine an update. Let alone anyone measuring up to Isabelle Adjani‘s unforgettable performance in the original film.
Adjani starred alongside Sam Neill in the 1981 horror movie, which sees a woman start exhibiting increasingly disturbing behavior after asking her husband for a divorce. Suspicions of infidelity soon give way to something much more sinister.
Margaret Qualley and Callum Turner will star as the turbulent couple in Finn’s Possession, and Adjani has officially given her blessing on Qualley’s casting.
Not only does Adjani give a vote of confidence for Qualley’s role in the remake, but the French actor/singer also points out the resemblance between the pair. Of the similarities, Adjani tells Numéro at the Cannes Film Festival, “When I met Margaret at a dinner party a few years ago, she told me she looked more like me than her mother, so it seems this family resemblance influenced the director’s choice of actress for the role in Possession. Besides, she’s incredibly talented!“
She also adds of the remake itself, “And yes, Possession, a film that dares to be mystical and horrific, and this talismanic role, has achieved cult status. Today, the new cinematic extremism that has become trendy has led to remakes of films like Possession, with a certain enlightened opportunism. Why not?“
The remake caused a bidding war among major studios, including A24, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, and Warner Bros., but ultimately, Paramount secured the hot remake package. Parker Finn is writing, directing, and producing, with Robert Pattinson also producing.
Żuławski’s cult film offers one of the more visceral and devastating dissolutions of a marriage, set against the backdrop of Cold War-era Berlin. It’s a brutal, disturbing, and poetic divorce movie.
Similarly, Adjani’s memorable turn in Possession permanently entered the cult status space with the violent miscarriage scene set in the subway, one that was more recently homaged in The First Omen.
Our own Brian Keiper celebrated Possession‘s 40th anniversary here on BD back in 2021, writing: “Possession remains one of the great horror films (and indeed films period) about divorce. Horror is a particularly potent way to address the pain, anger, and conflicting emotions involved in the breakdown of marriage. While Kramer Vs. Kramer (1979) and A Marriage Story (2019) can effectively depict the realities of divorce and child custody turmoil; these horror films can tap into a deeper root of emotion that is difficult to express in entirely reality-bound films.“
Margaret Qualley impressed with her turn in The Substance and is next starring in Southern Gothic horror King Snake.
