Untangling Sister Fait and Sister Chance in Andrzej Żuławski’s ‘Possession’ [The Lady Killers Podcast]

“I can’t exist by myself because I’m afraid of myself, because I’m the maker of my own evil.”

Divorce is hard under the best of circumstances. Though the dissolving marriage may be toxic, you’re still saying goodbye to an envisioned life and a future you now know will never be. This legal breakup often means untangling shared households, identities, and lingering trauma. And it can be especially difficult for children of the relationship.

No horror film explores this particular experience like Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession. Banned for many years in the UK, this distressing film packs a spectrum of powerful emotions into the story of two young parents on the brink of divorce. 

Anna (Isabelle Adjani) wants a divorce. Her spy husband Mark (Sam Neill) has just returned from a secret mission to find that their marriage has fallen apart. As their lingering emotions overflow, Mark tries to care for their young son Bob (Michael Hogbe) while Anna finds pleasure with someone else. Not only has she been seeing an empathetic man named Heinrich (Heinz Bennent), she’s caring for a slimy creature in a secret, rundown apartment across town. Anyone who tries to stand in her way becomes food for the mysterious being who begins to take a familiar shape. Stemming from an unthinkable tragedy, Anna’s new relationship may threaten the family Mark is trying so desperately to hold onto. But maybe that’s just what Anna wants. 

In the latest episode of Bloody FM’s The Lady Killers Podcast, co-hosts Jenn Adams, Sammie Kuykendall, and Mae Shults are joined by special guest Anna Bogutskaya to chat about their various interpretations of this singular film. What is the creature in Anna’s apartment? How does the story encapsulate Żuławski’s relationship with Poland? Why does Bob jump into that tub and from what kind of world has Helen (Adjani) emerged? They’ll pull up their pink socks and tackle these questions and more while emotionally wrestling with this challenging film.  

Stream below and subscribe now via Apple Podcasts and Spotify for future episodes that drop every Thursday.

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