Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Slow
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- eerie
- oppressive
- disturbing
- late night horror viewing
- arthouse horror night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film’s oppressive atmosphere, cinematography, score, production design, and Sean Harris’s haunted performance, while finding its minimalist story and finale divisive.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Philip’s hallucinations and encounters with the Possum puppet make his inner trauma inseparable from the surrounding world.
Philip returns to an oppressive childhood home and moves through bleak Norfolk surroundings with little social refuge.
The spider-like puppet and recurring imagery externalize the secrets and abuse haunting Philip’s adult life.
The film’s sparse dialogue, slow-burn pacing, bleak soundscape, and restrained exposition create an absorbing atmosphere of unease.
Films like Possum, and why
The Night House
shared psychological horror, childhood trauma, oppressive atmosphere, and surreal imagery
The Wicker Man
shared folk-horror unease, abuse themes, rural isolation, and disturbing visual symbolism
The Babadook
shared bleak psychological intensity, family abuse, haunted subjectivity, and unsettling sound design
Jacob's Ladder
shared surreal horror, damaged protagonists, grotesque imagery, and ambiguous psychological reality
Movie Details
- Director
- Matthew Holness
- Release Date
- 2018-10-26
- Runtime
- 85 min
- Rating
- 6.2 / 10 (353)
Cast
- Sean Harris
- Alun Armstrong
- Andy Blithe
- Ryan Enever
- Charlie Eales
- Joe Gallucci
- Rohan Gotobed
- Raphel Famotibe
- Simon Bubb
- Katie Lightfoot
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Screambox Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Possum about?
- A disgraced puppeteer returns to a suffocating childhood home, where a grotesque creation and buried abuse erode the boundary between memory and nightmare.
- What is Possum like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Possum as slow, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Possum violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Possum as mild.
- What did critics think of Possum?
- Critics broadly praised the film’s oppressive atmosphere, cinematography, score, production design, and Sean Harris’s haunted performance, while finding its minimalist story and finale divisive.
- Which films are like Possum?
- Films with a similar feel include The Night House, The Wicker Man, The Babadook, and Jacob's Ladder.
- How long is Possum?
- Possum runs 85 minutes.
- Where can I watch Possum?
- In United States, Possum streams on Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Screambox Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
