
Parker Finn Is a Good Director — But This Is the Wrong Movie
First thing’s first: I think Parker Finn is a good director. Smile was a lot of fun, and Smile 2 was even better. He’s shown real flair behind the camera and feels like a filmmaker at the start of a genuinely strong career.
But—he’s wasting his time remaking Possession.
Why Possession Took So Long to Be Recognized as a Classic
An obscure but hugely influential cult film, Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession was barely released in North America during its initial run. The distributor butchered it down to a virtually incomprehensible 77 minutes, hacked from its original 124-minute cut. Don’t believe me? You can actually see the cut version on the recent 4K reissue.
It wasn’t until the 1990s—thanks largely to early specialty DVD label Anchor Bay Entertainment—that the full version finally became accessible. Horror fans slowly discovered it, and its cult following grew.
Here at JoBlo, we’ve long championed it (check out the embedded videos at the bottom of this article – and our own Cody Hamman has written at length about it), but it’s really only in recent years that Possession has come to be widely regarded as a genuine classic.
Why Possession Hits Harder Now Than Ever
The reason is simple: arthouse cinemas across North America now program it regularly, and The Criterion Channel (and Shudder) frequently make it available.
I only saw Possession for the first time a few years ago at a packed screening at Montreal’s legendary Cinema du Parc, and the young audience ate it up. Oddly enough, it fits perfectly within the modern arthouse horror movement.
Instead of feeling dated, it feels ahead of its time.
The Scene That Changed Modern Horror Performances
If you’ve seen Possession, you remember its centerpiece:
Isabelle Adjani’s subway miscarriage scene—a feral, physically exhausting performance that ranks among the greatest ever captured on film.
That moment has echoed loudly through modern horror:
- Rosamund Pike paid tribute in Massive Attack’s Voodoo in My Blood
- Sydney Sweeney nearly recreated it in Immaculate
- Nell Tiger Free referenced it in The First Omen
Its influence is already baked into contemporary horror cinema.
Why I Understand the Temptation to Remake It
With that in mind, I understand why Finn might want to remake Possession. It’s a showcase role for an actress, with rumors suggesting Margaret Qualley (opposite Callum Turner, filling the Sam Neill role).
On paper, that’s strong casting.
Why a Possession Remake Will Never Work
There’s just one problem: it will never be as good.
The original Possession is inseparable from its context. It was shot in Cold War-era West Germany, on location near Berlin Wall. That setting isn’t background texture—it’s the film’s soul.
It’s a cinematic time capsule.
And then there’s the ending. Possession is so provocative, so confrontational in its final act, that there’s no realistic way a modern studio-backed remake wouldn’t sand off its sharpest edges. If Finn gets to make it, you can be sure it’ll be forced into something more palatable—and more mainstream.
That alone defeats the point.
Some Horror Classics Should Never Be Remade
Possession doesn’t need fixing. Its resurgence proves it has aged better than most films of its era precisely because it was doing something no one else dared to do.
History backs this up. Horror remakes usually turn out terribly—need I remind anyone of the atrocious The Omen?
Sure, people cite The Thing as a successful remake, but that film has virtually nothing to do with **Howard Hawks’ version beyond sharing loose source material from John W. Campbell’s novella.
A Possession remake won’t have that luxury.
Final Verdict: Why Bother?
A Possession remake will never outdo the original—so why bother trying?
Finn and his potential cast are all rising talents capable of incredible work. Spending that energy on a movie with no realistic chance of surpassing its inspiration feels like a waste.
Some films aren’t meant to be reinterpreted. They’re meant to be rediscovered.
Do you think I’m right about a Possession remake being a bad idea? Let us know in the comments.
The post Possession: A Movie That Does Not Need To Be Remade! appeared first on JoBlo.








