The Wildest Horror Movie Of The '80s Is Getting Remake From The Director Of Smile

Witnessing someone go through a divorce is not unlike learning that a classic film you love is being remade; in both instances, you have powerfully mixed feelings about what's happening even though you're powerless to stop it. Speaking of powerfully mixed feelings, the news just broke via The Hollywood Reporter that a bidding war has erupted over a remake of Polish provocateur Andrzej Żuławski's singular 1981 horror-drama "Possession."

The original film, which starred Isabelle Adjani as the unhappy wife of Sam Neill's Cold War spy who, during the dissolution of their relationship, starts mating with a squicky Lovecraftian creature designed by Carlo Rambaldi, is both of its time and timeless. Filmed in West Berlin, it's a snapshot of Cold War paranoia and ennui, mixed with an evergreen tale of the end of a marriage (inspired by Żuławski's own crumbling marriage) between two people who both cannot stand and yet cannot be without each other. In those ways and others, "Possession" is one of the wildest, most startlingly personal, and original films ever made.

Fortunately, the people behind this new remake aren't a couple of nobodies looking to make a quick buck on some cult classic IP. Parker Finn, director of "Smile" and the upcoming "Smile 2," is set to write and direct the film, teaming up with producer and star Robert Pattinson, who would presumably be playing Neill's part of the husband. While Finn's track record only consists of a couple of shorts and the upcoming "Smile" sequel, Pattinson's shown himself to have remarkably good taste in collaborators recently, indicating that a "Possession" remake from them may actually be worthwhile.

The original "Possession" neatly fits the definition of a cult film, insofar as it was difficult to find for many years, even upon its initial release. It wasn't until the year 2000 that the original version of the movie was available to North American audiences via a DVD release from Anchor Bay, and it was via that disc that this writer first saw upon renting it from Netflix back when their DVD rental service was still available.

In other words, there was a time when "Possession" was almost a lost film, but its unique tone, its intense lead performances, its disturbing visuals, and more have helped it gain a huge following online, resulting in several re-releases, a streaming copy on Shudder, and a recent 4K restoration. Thanks to this, more and more media have cropped up in recent years that have been influenced by the film, everything from a Massive Attack music video to this year's "The First Omen."

Even though "Possession" may not be as widely known and beloved as other genre classics, it still has built a huge reputation for itself. Fortunately, Finn and Pattinson seem to be well aware of this; as the Reporter stated, execs have been responding to the filmmakers' pitches by saying that they're "bats**t" and "out there." In addition to Pattinson's fame, Finn's star seems to be steadily rising; "Smile" made bank, and apparently "Smile 2" is good enough that Paramount is one of the bidders heavily vying for this remake.

There's not much more to go on at this moment, but things seem — to quote Adjani's character — "almost" promising at present. Like the creature, we'll bring more information as it develops.