Reawakening Terror: The 'Possession' Remake Haunts the Horizon with Robert Pattinson and Parker Finn

And waiting in the wings of a horror renaissance is a remake of one of my favourite horror films of all time, Possession (1981), an incredibly charged film about love, jealousy and the supernatural. It’s a remake that brings a well-loved terror story into the modern age with Robert Pattinson starring as well as directing the film, shared with Parker Finn.

The Haunting Return of a Horror CLASSIC

At its core, Possession is a narrative that concerns a crumbling marriage – a ghost story about a separation folded into psychodrama. The original, under Andrzej Żuławski’s direction, is a landmark work of horror, praised for its realist performances and for the ferocity with which its story unwinds. Its remake announcement has started a slow-burn stirring of excitement among horror fans and film buffs alike.

A Frighteningly Talented Duo: Pattinson and Finn

The guy leading the charge into this terrifying ghost story is Robert Pattinson, fresh off a pair of successful runs with mega-budget blockbusters (The Batman) and indie flicks (Good Time). And Parker Finn, who helmed the horror film Smile, is set to make his directorial debut with the Possession remake.

A Haunted Production Ensemble

The remake of Possession is haunted by a quintet. It’s the latest film produced by a trio: horror director M Night Shyamalan and his close production partners, Ashwin Rajan and Marc Bienstock. Add in Bass and another co-producer and that’s five, which sounds like a hex. And a haunting. So the producers’ hand is strong. They will make this horror story live again. Sit back and wait for the fun to begin.

The Resurgence of Classic Horrors

Reinvestigating Possession is a part of a larger wave within horror of reanimating the dead, modernising classic stories for new crowds. Rather than simply rebooting a tale that has always excavated the human mind through its surreal subtexts, the remake invites us to wonder what a modern retelling of a horror masterpiece might achieve. With Parker Finn at the helm and Robert Pattinson at its forefront, this incarnation has the potential to expand upon the original’s legacy.

What Lurks Behind: The Supernatural and The Human Psyche

At its core is not mere supernatural horror, but rather a story of fidelity and identity, and the very human conflicts that divide our lives. The remake’s opportunity lies in presenting these evergreen issues in a new context, and interrogating how they resonate among contemporary audiences, and at the extreme limits of love and madness.

A Modern Classic in the Making

Since this remake hasn’t even been conceived, let alone birthed – it has no announced release date – excitement is building, among commentators and fans alike. With Possession, it looks like a modern-day horror classic is in the process of being born.

Exploring the Essence of CLASSIC

The word ‘classic’ in cinema is often an attempt to describe a film that has risen to the top, that we still look to today for its originality of story, originality of technique, or importance or value to culture more generally. In horror, a classic is one reflected in the fear it creates, the emotion it generates, and the reflection of contemporary anxieties that can permeate it. The remake of Possession the question that the recent remake of Possession invites us to revisit what a classic is – and it is not merely about replicating the tale, but in recreating it, for us now. It is in what could be reclaimed and reimagined so that, in bringing strong performances, fresh direction, and an emotional and supernatural complexity to the story, it attempts to redefine what a horror classic can be in the times in which we live.

For Robert Pattinson, the filmmaker Parker Finn and everyone who works with them to create it, the Possession remake seeks to serve the same purpose: to take a story at the limits of the human psyche and transport it back to the present tense, once again to unsettle, shock and enchant in its journey across time.