Can you feel it deep within? That creeping fear of a dark past that until now has been hidden away? That’s Possum (or as we like to call it, “WHAT’S IN THE BAG!?”) in a nutshell.
British Writer/Director Matthew Holness’ stunningly chilling debut stars Sean Harris as Philip, a troubled man with an incredibly dark past who returns to his childhood home to confront his creepy stepfather/uncle Maurice (Alun Armstrong) armed with a brown bag containing a physical embodiment of his trauma, a puppet known as Possum.
Possum takes a truly dark subject matter of troubled childhood, embeds it in the audience’s brain and body from the opening, and allows that terror to blossom in the most natural way possible. Like Philip, the audience are left wondering what is truly real and what all in his broken and damaged mind.
The best way to describe Possum is “poetic yet relentlessly terrifying”. Sean Harris’ performance as Philip is categorically the best performance in a horror film since Toni Collette in last year’s Hereditary. Every expression on his face tells a story, and the terror feels so legitimate and nuanced. As he delivers the lines of his poem about Possum whilst the frankly impeccable score accompanies it, one cannot help but feel the hairs on one’s arm stand on end. Even though the film comes in at just shy of 90 minutes, the story is so deeply constructed that there is just enough there to guide you along whilst leaving some profound questions lingering once the credits begin to roll.
The design of Possum itself is astounding. It accurately depicts natural human fear in its creature-like form while possessing features that also make it feel very human – a choice that was wonderfully realised by Holness. To some, Holness may have produced a puppet that will haunt your nightmares for years to come – not just because of its appearance, but also its meaning and purpose in the context of the narrative.
Possum, in the future, will be surely known as a British horror classic that deserves all of the praise that it receives. Holness has approached a horrific subject matter and treated it with care and attention, being mindful to not offend but instead bringing what some people must have experienced to light in a truly spine-chilling fashion unlike anything you’ve seen before.
POSSUM / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: MATTHEW HOLNESS / STARRING: SEAN HARRIS, ALUN ARMSTRONG, SIMON BUBB / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
