"Walter Benjamin wrote that “Things are only mannequins and even the great world-historical events are only costumes beneath which they exchange glances of assent with nothingness, with the base and the banal. He was describing his experience of hashish which he took in 1928 as part of Ernst Joël’s and Fritz Fränkel’s psychopathological experiments. Brandon Cronenberg’s POSSESSOR offers a glimpse into the same psychedelic world that Benjamin saw under the influence: a world where human bodies are mannequins and the banality of physical existence is a visceral horror."

Full review at TAKE ONE: takeonecinema.net/2020/possessor/

"The black and white colour palette adds a starkness which highlights the difference between the dark and dingy greys of the Kim family’s apartment and the light brightness of the wealthy Park family’s house. The Parks are rendered in shining white, forming a further contrast with the dark shadows of their basement. This black and white imagery emphasises what Elle called the “stark and haunting” depiction of wealth disparity at the heart of the film. Still, it ironically loses some of the moral greyness that makes PARASITE so compelling."

Part of a feature on black and white re-releases for TAKE ONE: takeonecinema.net/2020/grey-matters-black-and-white-re-releases/

So much to like. I've said elsewhere that I Think You Should Leave is a key cultural text for our contemporary moment and I think there's more than a few scenes channelling that vibe here but leaning just a few degrees away from comedy and into horror. The Badalamenti-inspired soundtrack is really incredible. Most importantly, it's great to see a modern horror film with some genuine scares.

Logging a screening of Episode 8 at Glasgow Film Theatre as part of Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair global film festival.

Probably the best A Ghost Story for Christmas for a few years but I'm begging the BBC to let someone other than Mark Gatiss have a pop at one of these.