‘Possum’ is an Unsettling and Haunting Horror Cinema Masterpiece
I was thrilled to learn that Possum was added to the streaming platform of Shudder, where I was finally able to watch a film I wanted to watch since my college years. It was both a fascinating and unpleasant experience.
Possum follows the story of a man named Philip who returns back to his childhood home once he is fired from his job as a puppeteer.
Once I saw his puppet, I think I know why he was let go.
That spider like thing scared the crap out of me, even adults would be scarred for life. Like seriously, what the hell is that thing?
When Philip returns home, it’s obvious that something is very wrong. The way he holds his bag containing the puppet, like he doesn’t even want to touch it, and his interaction with his uncle at home is quite strange.
I was thrilled to learn that Possum was added to the streaming platform of Shudder, where I was finally able to watch a film I wanted to watch since my college years. It was both a fascinating and unpleasant experience.
Possum follows the story of a man named Philip who returns back to his childhood home once he is fired from his job as a puppeteer.
Once I saw his puppet, I think I know why he was let go.
That spider like thing scared the crap out of me, even adults would be scarred for life. Like seriously, what the hell is that thing?
When Philip returns home, it’s obvious that something is very wrong. The way he holds his bag containing the puppet, like he doesn’t even want to touch it, and his interaction with his uncle at home is quite strange.
He is unhappy and appears to be trapped in a childlike state, afraid of the world around him, including his puppet that appears to be following him around.
Yes, following him around. My heart stopped in several scenes.
His interactions with Uncle Maurice don’t make any lick of sense.
There is something going on between them, and the abduction of a random kid that Philip runs into during the beginning of the film is brought up way too many times.
It doesn’t help that Maurice continues to live in Philip’s childhood home that looks like total crap, that was once set on fire, killing Philips parents.
We eventually get our answers at the end of the film, but even then, something doesn’t seem right. It’s all up to the audience to determine their theories as to what the ending could actually mean.
I would like to discuss my interpretation of the ending, because I want to believe that was somewhat of a good ending for our main protagonist.
Possum is a depressing and tragic tale, that left me fully broken by that dark reveal at the end.
Philip experienced trauma at the hands of Maurice
and discovers that he was the one who kidnapped the child that had gone missing.
During the entirety of the film, Philip struggles to enter the bedroom where his parents had burned to death. He gets the courage until the ending of the film, entering the bedroom.
Then he is suddenly attacked by Maurice, revealing a disturbing secret, Philip was tortured by his own uncle when he was a child, and he was the one who was responsible for the death of his parents.
This entire sequence is difficult to watch, Philip goes back to being a child, while Maurice is taking delight in harming him again. It’s extremely hard to get through, I felt so broken during this whole scene.
Philip then hears a box in the room move on its own, and at that moment, he overpowers Maurice, snapping his neck. Then he opens the box, freeing the child that been missing throughout the film.
It was a great twist, and even though it was a little obvious, the reveal was done so well by both actors.
The film ends with Philip holding the head of the puppet, sitting outside, appearing to be lost in thought, freed from the torture he endured as a child.
Which brings me to the next thing…what is the point of the creepy puppet?
The freaky puppet is a manifestation of the trauma that Philip went through.
The scary spider half human puppet appears to always be haunting Philip wherever he goes.
No matter how many times he attempts to get rid of the damn thing, burning it, throwing it into the water, trying to tear it apart, the puppet always comes back.
And sometimes it will move on its own.
These parts were chilling, I jumped during one scene. First time I ever got scared of a puppet…
I think the puppet is like a metaphor for what Philip went through as a child. He can’t let go of his trauma, and the puppet is a figment of what he endured, no matter where he goes, it will follow.
What’s also strange is that the face of the puppet looks like Philip. I’m sure the director did this on purpose, to show his audience that the puppet is a version of the main character, a scary thing that won’t go away.
Perhaps the ending of Philip holding the puppet’s head in his arms is a way of him finally letting go. He was able to rip the head from the body of the puppet, finally defeating the trauma.
Possum is a dreadful film, but it’s a worthy watch that keeps you guessing until the very end of the film!
The puppet is carrying the darkness Philip experienced at the hands of his uncle, and the terrifying sequences we see of the puppet literally going after Philip is scary, because his trauma is continuing to haunt him.
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