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Possum (film)

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Possum
Directed byMatthew Holness
Screenplay byMatthew Holness
Produced byWayne Marc Godfrey
James Harris
Robert Jones
Mark Lane
StarringSean Harris
Alun Armstrong
Simon Bubb
Andy Blithe
CinematographyKit Fraser
Edited byTommy Boulding
Music byThe Radiophonic Workshop
Production
companies
Distributed byDark Sky Films
Release dates

  • 26 October 2018 (2018-10-26) (United Kingdom)

Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Possum is a 2018 British psychological horror film written and directed by Matthew Holness in his feature film debut, and stars Sean Harris, and Alun Armstrong. The film centers on a disgraced children's puppeteer who returns to his childhood home, and is forced to confront the childhood abuse and trauma that he suffered at the hands of his stepfather.

Holness had previously worked on the cult television series Garth Marenghi's Darkplace; which he both wrote, directed, and starred in as the title character, as well as the publication of several short stories. The film itself is based on Holness' short story of the same name which was published in The New Uncanny: Tales of Unease, a collection of short stories written by Holness. The film's visual style was inspired by public information films that Holness had seen during his youth. Other inspirations for the film included George Romero's Martin (1978), Dead of Night (1945), and German Expressionist films. Possum made its premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on June 25, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised Harris' performance, atmosphere, soundtrack, and unsettling imagery.

Plot

After returning to his childhood home, a disgraced children's puppeteer is forced to confront his wicked stepfather and the secrets that have tortured his entire life. All the while he is haunted by a terrifying spider-like puppet called Possum.

Cast

  • Simon Bubb as Mr. Evans
  • Andy Blithe as Michael's Father

Production

"It was important for me to not give the audience those safety nets, to not allow them to feel like they knew where they were."[1]

Writer/director Matthew Holness on the development of the film’s script

Possum marks the feature film debut of English comedian, author, and director Matthew Holness. Holness had previously worked on the cult television series Garth Marenghi's Darkplace; which he both wrote, directed, and starred in as the title character, as well as the publication of several short stories. The film itself is based on Holness' short story of the same name which was published in The New Uncanny: Tales of Unease, a collection of short stories written by Holness.[1][2] In an interview with PopMatters, Holness stated that writing the film's script involved extending the narrative from his original short story: "Short stories are different because they can be very short, they can be just about one scene, one place, one sole thing happening. Certainly with Possum I knew I needed to extend the narrative a bit, to widen it in order for it to be a film in which nothing much on the face of it happens. It needed a bigger sense of climax and confrontation than the original story had, even though the essentials of the short story are in the film."[1] Holness described the film as “a very bleak and understated character piece”,[3] and stressed the importance of making the film 'through Philip's perspective of the world', and ensuring that the character remained morally ambiguous.[1]

Possum's visual style was inspired by public information films that Holness had seen during his youth. These films, which were intended to shock youth out of making bad decisions, often depicted children being kidnapped, maimed, and/or killed. The films deeply disturbed Holness, who later recalled, "They were put on between children’s programming during the day; you’d see these horrific, terrifying films – you got the impression that the adult world was a very tribal place. Of course, now we know several of those films are fronted by real-life monsters". Further inspiration for the film came from silent films such as Murnau's Nosferatu. Drawing from this, Holness decided to use as little dialogue as possible, opting to make "a modern silent film".[4] Holness also listed films such as George Romero's Martin (1978), and Dead of Night (1945) as inspiration for the film. When the film was originally announced, Holness stated in an interview with ScreenDaily, "The film draws on the dark nightmares of silent expressionist horror, British classics such as The Innocents and Don’t Look Now, as well as the claustrophobic suburban gothic of Pete Walker’s Frightmare. Possum will terrify in the best tradition of classic horror cinema, evoking an atmosphere of supernatural dread and creeping horror.”[5]

Release

Theatrical release

Possum made its premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on June 25, 2018.[6] It was later released theatrically in the United Kingdom on October 26, 2018.[2][1][7] It was announced that the film would be a part of films screened at the 2018 British Horror Film Festival.[8] The film is set to be released via Video on Demand in the United States on November 2, 2018.[9][10]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Possum holds an approval rating of 84%, based on 19 reviews, and an average rating of 7.2/10.[11]

Kim Newman of Empire Magazine awarded the film 4/5 stars and praised Harris' performance, writing, "A disturbing, curiously beautiful British horror exercise. Recommended, but with a warning: next time you wake up in the middle of the night, you’ll find Possum at the end of the bed."[12] Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, calling it "deadly serious, but carries with it an echo or ghost of how this same material could have been played as ironic black comedy."[13] Neil Young of The Hollywood Reporter called it "a serious and dark journey into the labyrinths of cruelty and abuse", commending the film's acting, and production design.[14] Joseph Marczynski of Vice called it "deeply disturbing", and wrote, "Rich in symbolism but sparse in dialogue, Possum is a haunting and otherworldly exploration of Phillip's psyche as he struggles to shed the trauma of childhood abuse."[4] Mark Butler from iNews praised the film's surreal atmosphere, unsettling imagery, soundtrack, and Harris' performance; calling it "a distinctly non-humorous, deeply unsettling psychological horror that leaves a thoroughly haunting impression."[15] Joey Keogh from WickedHorror awarded the film 5 out of 5 stars, writing "Possum will crawl under your skin and lay eggs. It will set up camp in a dark corner of your mind and linger there, its many legs hanging ominously in wait to pounce. It’s shiver-inducing, claustrophobic, hauntingly brilliant nightmare fuel, powered by an engagingly disturbing central performance from Sean Harris. It must be experienced in all its horrifying glory, but beware its dark delights."[16]

Pat Brown from Slant Magazine gave the film a negative review, criticizing the film's sparsely written script, and finale, while commending the film's atmosphere, and haunting imagery. Concluding his review, Brown wrote, "Possum builds toward a revelation, but for such a visually oriented, sparsely written film, that revelation is surprisingly reliant on dialogue. As a result, there’s little payoff for all the repetitive series of evocative visions and mute stares."[17] Rich Cline from Shadows on the Wall awarded the film 2 out of 5 stars, noting that it featured a fine cast with committed performances, and was definitely creepy. However, Cline criticized the characters and situations as having "very little definition", concluding that the film was "definitely creepy, and often very yucky, but it's far too pretentious to be scary."[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Risker, Paul. "Interview with Director Matthew Holness on 'Possum'". PopMatters.com. Paul Risker. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  2. ^ a b Shoard, Catherine. "From Garth Marenghi to big-screen horror – what the 'lost boy' of comedy did next". The Guardian.com. Catherine Shoard. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  3. ^ Baughan, Nikki. "FrightFest rising star nominee Matthew Holness on horror 'Possum'". Screen Daily.com. Nikki Baughan. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  4. ^ a b Marczynski, Joseph. "Garth Marenghi's Matthew Holness Has Made a Deeply Disturbing Horror Film - VICE". Vice.com. Joseph Marczynski. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  5. ^ Miska, Brad. "'Possum' Trailer Confronts a Puppeteer's Tortured Past - Bloody Disgusting". Bloody Disgusting.com. Brad Miska. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  6. ^ "EIFF 2018 Programme Revealed!". EdFilmFest.org.uk. Edinburgh Film Festival. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Matthew Holness's movie debut, Possum, to be released next month : News 2018 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". Chortle.co.uk. Chortle. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  8. ^ Barkan, Jonathan. "BHFF 2018: Second Wave Revealed and We're Bringing DRINKING WITH THE DREAD to the Show! - Dread Central". Dread Central.com. Jonathan Barkan. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Possum". UpcomingHorrorMovies.com. Upcoming Horror Movies. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  10. ^ Spry, Jeff. "Exclusive: British director Matthew Holness on his freakish new indie horror flick, Possum Exclusive preview: British director Matthew Holness on his freakish new indie horror flick, Possum". SyFy.com. Jeff Spry. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Possum (2018) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.com. Flixter. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  12. ^ Newman, Kim. "Possum Review". Empire Online.com. Kim Newman. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  13. ^ Bradshaw, Peter. "Possum review – grisly shivers and a bag full of nastiness". The Guardian.com. Peter Bradshaw. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  14. ^ Young, Neil. "'Possum': Film Review". Hollywood Reporter.com. Neil Young. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  15. ^ Butler, Mark. "Possum: how Garth Marenghi creator Matthew Holness made a non-spoof horror film". iNews.co.uk. Mark Butler. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  16. ^ Keogh, Joey. "Possum is Pure Nightmare Fuel [Frightfest 2018 Review] - Wicked Horror". WickedHorror.com. Joey Keogh. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  17. ^ Brown, Pat. "Possum". Slant Magazine.com. Pat Brown. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  18. ^ Cline, Rich. "Shadows on the Wall". Shadows on the Wall.co.uk. Rich Cline. Retrieved 29 October 2018.

Category:2018 films Category:2018 horror films Category:2010s thriller films Category:Art films Category:British films Category:British horror films Category:British thriller films Category:English-language films Category:Films about abuse Category:Films featuring puppetry Category:Horror drama films Category:Psychological drama films Category:Psychological horror films Category:Psychological thriller films Category:Supernatural horror films

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