by Will Howard
Sat 14 February 2026 11:40, UK
At the time of writing, Valentine’s Day is upon us.
For many couples, the key issue is how to celebrate such an event. What should you actually do to mark the most romantic day of the year in a way that still feels genuinely romantic and not like you’re stiffly acting out the whims of an advertising company like you’re under a possession?Honestly? If you’re stuck for choice and neither of you is particularly enthused by the prospect of another jaunt through When Harry Met Sally or But I’m a Cheerleader, perhaps the best option is to go for the complete opposite option.An intense horror film can have more or less the same effect as any romantic flick you can think of. Heightened pulse, bursting adrenaline, heavy breathing, and if you happen to jump into each other’s arms, well, then it’s bringing you closer together. What more can you want from Valentine’s Day?Now, there are many films to choose from here. Josh Ruben’s knockabout slasher rom-com Heart Eyes is a good shout for something light-hearted. Shaun of the Dead is a classic if you’re looking for something a little harder. However, let’s be real here, Valentine’s Day can be a traumatic experience at the best of times and if you’re looking for something to truly reflect what a torturous psychodrama it can be, how about you give the ultimate torturous psychodrama a try?Released in 1981 and directed by Andrzej Żuławski, Possession is no ordinary horror flick. There are no jump scares, ghosts or men with masks carrying blood-covered axes. There is only a couple on the brink of a divorce, two people who look disturbingly like that couple and their young son, caught in the middle of this disturbing, erotic power play. Sam Neill is sensational as Mark, the husband who suspects his wife is having an affair, yet this film belongs to his co-star.Isabelle Adjani walks away with the entire picture, delivering arguably the most committed and disturbing performance in the history of horror cinema.
What makes this performance in ‘Possession’ so disturbing?
So, at the risk of spoiling anything, Neill and Adjani are both multi-roling as the main characters and their doppelgängers. The horror of the picture comes from, essentially, which one did the other fall in love with? As these identities begin to crash into each other, both their lives begin to fall apart. With one scene in particular illustrating a descent into madness more harrowingly and viscerally than just about any other put to screen.Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you know exactly the scene I’m talking about. To the point that if you merely say the words “the subway scene” to most cinephiles, they’ll know exactly what you’re talking about. I suppose maybe some of the more action oriented people will think of that bit in John Wick: Chapter 2 where Keanu Reeves and Common stroll down a New York city subway casually shooting pistols at each other with no-one else batting an eyelid, but that’d a close second.No, I’m talking about Adjani’s Anna losing what’s left of her sanity in an extended freakout set in a Berlin subway station. One so hard to watch that you can’t turn away from it, and it provided a blueprint for the kind of intense horror performance turned out by generations of actresses in horror movies for decades since. From Heather Donahue’s tearful goodbyes in The Blair Witch Project and Toni Collette hollering “I AM YOUR MOTHER!” In Hereditary, to Lily-Rose Depp’s own descent into madness in Nosferatu, an open tribute to Adjani’s performance in Possession.So, this Valentine’s Day, give your relationship the mother of all tests by sticking to Possession and cuddling up close to the one you love.
Possession (1981) - Official Trailer
It is age restricted but available on YouTube - proof of age its a requirement
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