It’s finally happened, the acquired taste cult-classic Possession is being given the Hollywood remake treatment. Is nothing sacred?
Hollywood’s baffling lack of creative ideas is nothing new, nor is the preoccupation with remaking cult movies from decades ago. We have a reboot of The Crow on the way that could have chosen a number of characters within the comic book lore who weren’t played so perfectly by Brandon Lee. Alex Proyas’ original film version beautifully captured its source material whilst also feeling like its own unique cinematic vision. The trailer for the reboot only seems to suggest that they’ve made conventional choices and based the aesthetic off of bad video game adaptations circa 2007-08.
The point is, a film that felt very much of its time with such a distinct auteur vision and a pitch-perfect cast, is something that can’t be remade. If you pay too much homage to Proyas’ film you’ll come up short. If you try to be markedly different, you’ll probably be damned too. Short of placing it in the hands of a master filmmaker given carte blanche, able to conjure a great film in their voice, it was always destined to lose. Reboots of cult films rarely get given to the Christopher Nolan’s of this world (and Batman doesn’t really count).
Some films just can’t be remade, even with the best will in the World, and that brings us to Possession. Andrzej Zulawski’s 1981 curio cult film, born from the pent-up anger from a bitter divorce, not only has an outpouring of himself in the picture but also a vast arsenal of his distinctive creative touches. He also slipped political subtext into the film, choosing to shoot it in Berlin in a time of a divided Germany. Add to the fact that Zulawski had to leave his home nation of (a stifling) Poland to carry on filmmaking, and it makes sense that the film is an unrestrained explosion of creativity (to the point of baffling many who watch).
The remake on paper at least has some promise with Robert Pattinson rumoured as the lead and Parker Finn (Smile) to direct and a studio bidding war apparently in the offing. The best outcome would be A24 snatching it up, at least for any creative freedom Finn might require but really…how will a remake be anything but conventional in comparison to the original? A more standard straight-up horror spin on the original film might have merits, but in truth, why not just make something original, unconnected to Zulawski’s film? You can certainly pay homage and let’s face it, the infamous subway sequence has been riffed on innumerable occasions (hell I’ve referenced it in a couple of my own films).
Zulawski’s film does have a cult following but it’s still not widely known. It’s not as if it would be an IP of much commercial value and most fans of the original wouldn’t have a great deal of interest in seeing a reboot. Whether Pattinson plays the Adjani role in a gender flip, or the cucked husband (played by Sam Neill originally) remains to be seen (if he is confirmed), he’s bound to throw himself into it but it feels like an invite for unfavourable comparisons, particularly if they do gender flip it. But how on God’s green Earth can anyone follow Isabelle Adjani?
Adjani’s performance is extraordinary (one of the greatest of all time), a genuine display of one-off brilliance. The range she displays, in this strange unique oddity of a film, is something that can’t be repeated and whichever way they take this project you can be damn sure the most infamous scene is going to be remade too.
Layering a film about a toxic breakup with horror and surrealism isn’t something Zulawaski had a monopoly on, so Pinn could well have made a new film rather than a remake and paid careful homage where required. The revelry afforded the original film among cinephiles is clear and it’s undoubted that Pinn must have a deep love of the original film to even ponder rebooting it but it almost feels like most people who watched the original (aghast for much of it is the usual default setting) would be adverse to remaking it. Surely this is hallowed ground?
Whether this makes it all the way from current rumours to production remains to be seen. Many other films following such distinct cult gems have been perennially stuck in development hell (Highlander for one). I’ve no doubts with that pairing of director and star, something good could come out of it. Pattinson could do a good take on the Adjani role, Neill, or that of the lover (played in the original by Heinz Bennent), but it’s going to pale in comparison. It is unlikely to flow with a director’s angst, anger, displacement and creative frustrations. It won’t have an actress driven to near madness by its director (an unfortunate trait of auteurs of that era) but as a consequence produce something remarkable. As we saw with Let Me In, the American remake of the brilliant Let the Right One In, was solid, but it was following a bonafide masterpiece.
If there could be an upside, it would be that fans turning up to see Pattinson’s latest might be compelled to seek out the original. You could but hope that a reboot, were it to pick up some kind of a wave of word of mouth might lead to a mini-run back at cinemas for Zulawski’s jaw-dropping original. To this day it remains the best film recommendation I’ve ever received (thank you Mira) and one which initially left me bewildered at what I’d just witnessed.
What it did, and what so few films seem to do these days, is leave an imprint. A piece of cinema, even as I initially tried to fathom whether I loved or hated it, that was unforgettable. Rewatches have since confirmed that feeling was a complex love and it’s also now become a film I tend to recommend when people ask for something that skews from the beaten path.
I do wish we could have a break from head-scratching remake choices, but there are no signs of slowing down and (at least theatrically) they mostly end up as financial disappointments (or occasionally disasters). Still, Finn’s a braver man than me to touch this project and this sacred turf so good luck to him. I’m off to scream in the subway, it could be down to this remake but it’s probably due to UK public transport prices.
What do you think about a Possession remake? Did you like the original? Drop us a comment on our social channels @FlickeringMyth or on my Instagram @JolliffeProductions…
