Possum

 



Name: Possum

Directed By: Dave Whitehead

Subgenre: Psychological, Creature Feature

Series: Spooktober 2019 entry #2; review #33

Review: It's another weird one, folks, so buckle up. And let me go ahead and follow up with that this isn't campy weird like Troll 2, bizarrely compelling weird like Tag, or surreal absurdist weird like Rubber or Death Bed: The Bed that Eats; no, this is the sort of weird that capitalizes on creeping dread and unspoken sorrow until it pulls the rug out from under your feet with a climax that is as traumatizing as it is provocative. Possum is what happens when your crippling fear of dolls meets your (totally rational) arachnophobia before devolving into something much more insidious--and let this be your second content warning. Possum follows a disgraced and perpetually downtrodden puppeteer as he returns home after his career is destroyed by some unspoken event in the past. Phillip is constantly trying and failing to rid himself of Possum, his puppet that also happens to be a disturbing mix of glassy-eyed mannequin and giant terrible spider. The film is definitely a slow burn but punctuated by quick shots of the eponymous doll haunting Philip's life as he tries to move on from his past. Possum is a movie about a man trying to rid himself of a doll, but it's also so much more than that. The movie will leave you feeling dirty and grimy and raw, and that's your third and final content warning. Don't expect a film-by-numbers horror movie, rather an atmospheric, haunting psychological chiller. Possum is a grotesquely unique spin on a far more traumatizing reality, and that combined with its generally languid pace (reminiscent of the depression blanketing our protagonist) will likely divide viewers. I'll be honest here, folks: I'm generally not a fan of slow-burn horror; that's actually a fairly notable impetus for me getting into the horror blog space. Let that context sit with you for a moment, and now I implore you to go check out this movie--you know, if you're wanting to walk away feeling emotionally ruined.




Overall Score: 4 out of 5 Chads saying hello to the black balloon. Did Possum scare you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

IMDB: Here

How to Watch: Possum is available on these platforms.


Official Trailer




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