The Unseen Terror of POSSUM 

*What should I talk about next?!*

There was a screening of 'Possum' at my local Picturehouse, which had Matt Holness in attendance to introduce the film and do a Q&A afterwards. After the film he brought out the actual Possum puppet - which was genuinely unsettling. A moment that has stayed with me is that someone in attendance took a picture of it, and when the flash on their camera went off the eyes of the puppet appeared to come alive.

"We dont know why he was sacked a children's puppeteer" *looks at his puppet* Me - yeah I think I know why

Considering ‘rock spider’ is an old slang word for pedophile, i think the puppet being spider like adds to the abuse/ pedophilia theme, as well as representing the trauma and being uncanny

My house is “spider friendly.” We go to great lengths to either let them be or carefully carry them outside to set them free. His puppet would be given its own bedroom and seat at my table in my house. Edit: My wife says “no”.

“The crazy people out there who like spiders” Spiders don't have creepy human faces. That thing is horrific.

"We never learn why Phil was sacked from his puppeteer job" Well if that thing was his main act, I can see why

dude, i like spiders AND puppets, but not even i like that thing. whoever designed/built that prop did a hell of a job.

when you say "we never find out why he got sacked at his job as a children's puppeteer..." I was waiting for you to say "though we get strong implications when introduced to *that fucking puppet* "

"The story follows a disgraced puppeteer called Phillip, who returns to his childhood home hopping to rid himself of his grotesque Frankenstein-spider doll thing, only to confront his haunted past, where he was viciously abused by his uncle Maurice." That is a lot to unpack for only one sentence.

Look I’m one of those freaks who likes spiders, and that puppet is still frickin terrifying

The spider looks like that babyhead robot toy Sid had in Toy Story

He didn't even mention the fact that the Uncle took and perhaps killed some of Philip's friends when he was younger, he knew it was his uncle but didn't talk with the police, i think he blames himself for that

"Giving a voice to the voiceless" Giving a voice to a ventriloquist is some spicy symbolism

"We don't know why he was fired from his job as a puppeteer for children" He said while showing the most horrifying and scarring puppet I've ever seen in my damn life.

When I watched this I knew that the movie has something to do with pedophilia because in Nabokov’s Lolita, Humbert in his diary refers to himself as an spider.

I saw the legs come around the corner and couldn't help letting out a "fuck that"

"Spiders really do get a bad rep, they're out here stopping malaria and we just put cups over them and throw them out of a window" Abraham Lincoln, 2006

3:16 The horror of Toy story: Sid’s room

I'm surprised more people aren't talking about the way Maurice presents his fingers to Phillip much like the legs of a spider. This feels very intentional on the filmmaker's part.

I also noticed that when Philip runs his arms are slack and just sorta bounce in front of him limply like a doll. Or a puppet.

I spoke to the writer about why Philip lost his job after a screening of Possum. He said that it was in the script but was dropped as it was too long. Philip had a breakdown when doing a kid's puppet show and started screaming and crying on stage scaring the kids. He didn't molest them or anything.

fun fact! possum is actually latin for "I can," which actually makes sense when given the narrative of this movie.

Aye, the film absolutely wants you to think there’s something more sinister going in with Phillip himself, especially early on. What I do like, though, is that once the (admittedly very obviously but still quite cleverly set up) reveal makes it clear what’s really going on- that Phillip is ultimately a victim of the very thing we assumed he was engaging in, and that abuse has completely dominated his life whether consciously or not- is that a lot of his behaviours and quirks are recontextualised. Specifically, a lot of the stuff he does when in the presence of other people is very childlike- he legitimately WAS curious about what the boy was drawing and nothing sinister was going on, the way he goes ‘yes sir, sorry sir’ when the teacher tells him to move on, why he picked a children’s park to sit and smoke in, the way he just kind of awkwardly looks at the two folks calling him a pervert like he doesn’t really know how to refute it (no matter how much he wants too), how he talks when he returns to the school, the way he cuddles the puppet + the very specific way he begins to cry during the scene where he burns Possum, and most horrifically the way he begs Maurice not to assault him in that last scene (which is, more or less, a simulation/reenactment of what must have happened to Phillip countless times as a child). Phillip is, quite understandably, an emotionally and mentally stunted mess of a man who still exhibits many childlike behaviours as a result of how cruelly his childhood was snatched away from him by the man who was supposed to care for him after he lost his parents (which is itself a Big Oof on the trauma metre), and I’m at least personally convinced the film wants you to not realise this and assume the worst of him until that final reveal confirms that it was just Maurice that was dodgy as dodgy gets. Admittedly the film makes more or less no real attempt to hide that something isn’t right about Maurice from the word “go”, which provides ammo for the “Maurice is a figment of Phillip’s imagination” and “Phillip is repeating the cycle of abuse he suffered” theories. As does the fact that the house is, essentially, a derelict that I’m genuinely surprised still has electricity and running water, but frankly Maurice is such a thoroughly unpleasant and disgusting man- even by the standard of nonces that abuse their own kin- I fully believe he’s 100% real and living in that shitehole as basically a hermit who leaves only for food or... other interests. Likewise I can fully believe Phillip hasn’t perpetuated the cycle of violence and was an innocent all along just based on how near completely helpless he is in that last scene, and how it helps recontextualises his behaviours beforehand. Maybe it’s because by that I was so enthralled by Sean Harris’ fucking stunning performance and felt so deeply sorry for his character that I *want* that to be true, I dunno. But aye, to close out, can I just take a minute to praise Sean and Alun’s fucking incredible performances here? “Good” is an understatement. This is masterclass acting from top to bottom and is rife with both subtleties and moments of grandeur from both of them- I knew straight up that Maurice was some sort of perv alone from the subtle (and then not so subtle) ways he demands to be told about the fox (likely again), and the very specific way Sean positions/holds his arms throughout the film is, honestly, the loudest and boldest action speaking louder then his few, mostly quiet words ever could. Fucking STUNNING stuff.

Trauma is a loyal dog, won't leave your side for the rest of your life

As a victim of mental and physical abuse, thank you for exposing me to this movie. It speaks very true to my experience and I love the film.

That victims self-blame is horribly common. "I should have known," "She said she loved me," et cetera.

Phillip is so trumatized by Maurice, that he can't confront the fact that he knows from the beginning that Maurice has kidnapped the boy. Maurice clearly admits to it from the beginning, daring Phillip to go in the other room and see the victim. But, you'll only recognize the admission when watching the film a second time. So, throughout the movie, both men know that Maurice has the boy.

"Oh Amygdala, oh Amygdala... Have mercy on the poor bastard."

The tense discomfort you feel when watching this movie is something most horror completely fails at imo.

My theory on why he got fired was that he had an emotional breakdown on stage, scaring the children. Many people would think of that as a scandal, like Maurice calls it.

That chase scene where the puppet comes after him scared me, especially the part where it just poked it's head around the door frame as was seen earlier in the movie. For some reason, that really got to me more than the jumpscares. There was just something about knowing what it was and it just peeking around the corner like that that set off a serious fight or flight instinct for me

Never knew this film would be that deep until this analysis

What could *Possumly* go wrong?

It’s sad how movies like this don’t get the attention they deserve. People nowadays think horror = jump scares, when in reality the biggest horrors don’t pop up out of nowhere, we already know they are inside of us.

I don’t necessarily agree with your interpretation that it’s him blaming himself, I suffer from ptsd and I really think it’s more about the trauma of the events itself that you simply can’t get rid of. They are so persistent and that fear never goes away like the puppet no matter how hard you try.

I’m a horror film junkie, and most horror films are pretty much comedies to me. But possum is the one film that has actually scared me in years. Very well done!

this guy's videos are getting so much better and better

Ryan: Movie is better seen than said. also Ryan: still manages to make 13 minutes of completely entertaining & detailed content about said movie

Remember patches the spider? This is him now. Feel old yet?

This is the only movie I've watched where I screamed at the top of my lungs. I don't think the part I screamed at was all that scary. I was just so invested in what Phillip was looking at while sitting at the floor in the end and then Maurice comes out of nowhere and it caught me so off guard.

It's somehow worse (in a good way) that the spider puppet isn't skittery like most giant spiders in movies, maybe it's just the human looking head

I honestly had a hard time believing that puppet was ever in a kids show

Just watched it. Last movie to make me that uncomfortable was Eraserhead. It's this nightmarish, surreal and depressing atmosphere. That feeling of hopelessness, being trapped in a limbo. Even while figuring out what exactly is going on, you just know it's something very wrong, something's rotten to the core. This is peak horror for me, when I can say that I had a bad time watching a great movie.

This was the first film in years that made me cry. During the last scene when Maurice was abusing Phillip. What really made it effective was that 1. There was no music. 2. It was in a dark, decrepit location, 3. Maurice talked to Phillip as if he were a little boy again, and Phillip seems to act accordingly. It's common for people who experienced trauma in their childhood to age regress and I think it's referring to that. An amazingly brutal choice on Holness's part. I'll never forget it.

Stylistically, this movie always heavily reminded me of Tarkovsky's Stalker. Also, MAJOR props for getting through this entire video without even so much as casually mentioning Garth Merenghi's Darkplace. Must've been hard, haha.

Words can't describe how hellish that puppet looks. Props to the designer.

i honestly love the puppet's design. i wouldn't want to wake up with it that close to me like it is in the film, but there's just something so haunting about how it looks, it's so unique.

One of the smaller details I remember from this movie was when Sean Harris' character was having his dissociative episodes they would break with some offscreen unknown voice screaming "Phillip!!!" And he would instantly snap out of his daze to look around for the source of the voice to find absolutely nothing. As someone with a shitty upbringing, robbed childhood, and a life of rejection and alienation, that is exactly the kind of psychosomatic phenomenon you experience neck deep in flashbacks. Its very unnerving, until you understand what it is where its coming from. This movie nails it perfectly.

Me: (sees thumbnail) Hmmmm Me: (continues to watch video and learns about a SPIDER-PUPPET) HMMMMMMM Me: (sees the puppet move) HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM????

Watching the film makes you feel so unclean, with all the images of damp, decay, mold, and just abandoned. I think his home, along with the abandoned building he visits, overall symbolises either a) his decaying mental state, or b) how his past is dead and is decaying around him, his old life is completely destroyed and he needs to come to terms and deal with it instead of living in his trauma. The lack of music made the film really linger and I couldn't wait till it ended, despite loving it.

I misread the title as "POTASIUM" and thought this was a fruit industry exposé

I went to the screening of this at Picturehouse Central, Holness and Sean Harris were there. The scrapped opening scene was meant to have the main character remembering a traumatizing puppet show he performed at a primary school. During the performance he breaks down in tears and all the children start screaming and you hear it all whilst he sits on the train.

I'll take my trauma over that Spider every day, thank you very much.

My man Patches the spider finally getting the recognition he deserves.

First of all, thank you so much for this video! I didn't know anything about this movie until I watched this. I found the film on Amazon Prime and have now watched it twice. I really, really love this movie! A few things I realized while watching it: As others have suggested, the film itself suggests that Philip was fired for showing the spider puppet to the children. He even remarks to his uncle something to the effect of "they'll take me back once I get rid of it." As I think the puppet is a manifestation of his many traumatic memories, I think he thought that by going back to his childhood home, he could get rid of the traumas once and for all by destroying the memories. Unfortunately, what actually happens is that he repeatedly regresses to his childhood self and starts to have even worse PTSD symptoms, most notably intrusive memories and flashbacks. I noticed that the really trippy imagery only starts once he takes the green sweets his uncle repeatedly offers him. The green sweets seem to be drugged with something, and though Philip indicates that he knows this when he refuses them the first time, he later accepts a sweet when it looks like his uncle is trying to reconcile with him (that is, when they are burning the puppet--a very interesting scene in and of itself). I don't think the uncle is a figment of Philip's imagination. I think we're meant to suspect that Philip is the killer/pedophile, but in reality, he's the victim of his truly monstrous uncle. He spends the movie figuring out not only his own past, but the other crimes his uncle has committed. The last shot of the movie is ambiguous, but I take it to mean that Philip has finally realized and understood what happened to him, which is the start of any healing process. Where he'll go from there is anyone's guess, but I found it a very satisfying ending.

The mythos of Possum (the poem, the puppet) is one of the creepiest things i've ever seen in a movie. And once you know the back story of why it exists in the first place, it's also devastating and heartbreaking. First class horror based on what really happens to the psyche of abuse victims.

The bleak and lonely locations really serve to help the sheer horror of the puppet all the more terrifying

Who wouldn’t lose their puppeteering job with a puppet like that

I got odd vibes from the uncle immediately. Because of Philip's mannerisms, it was hard for me to believe he was guilty in the slightest. I just want to give the poor guy a warm blanket and some cookies. Definitely one of thoes that will stick with you forever.

The visual of him lugging that big duffel bag around, trying to do anything to get rid of it but being hesitant to look inside is so spot on for trauma. Like you can feel what it’s done to your brain permanently, you just want it to go away, but unless you are willing to face it head on and acknowledge what’s in the bag, you won’t ever truly be able to start healing. Also I was wondering if “everyone having their puppet” almost was a metaphor for passed down trauma. Was Maurice also abused? And him enjoying his creepy puppets company was like when someone instead of healing and realizing what happened was wrong, does the same behavior to someone else? And theoretically are we all carrying a puppet in one way or another? Makes me wonder what mine would look like

I'm freaked out just looking at the thumbnail so I know this video is about a banger of a horror movie. Love your content!

As someone who was abused as a kid, this film made me feel strangely understood.

If you're in London before the 19 Feb 2023 - the Possum puppet is currently on display in the exhibit The Horror Show! at Somerset House. You can meet him in person! :D

"We never learn why Phil was sacked from his puppeteer job" i know right, children love to see a spider with a realistic head puppet show

I like how this movie is very open to speculation like the black balloons with smoke around them. I always thought that this hinted that Philip was fired after a birthday party gone bad, but another commenter I read said they represent philips last memory of his parents after seeing there burned up bodies

thanks for this. as a former victim of abuse it felt refreshing and good to listen to a take like yours, whether from experience, reason or empathy you seem to understand the topic well and spoke about it in a manner i really appreciate.

Honestly, that is terrifying.

The moment I discovered the main idea of this movie, I was immediately intrigued, and man did it deliver. I'd say its one of the scariest films I've seen. Its beautifuly dark, touching on topics such as physical and verbal abuse, as well as the trauma it causes.

Possum sat with me and disturbed me for reasons I cannot explain. Similarly to something like Lake Mungo, it just sits like a pit in your stomach. Probably the most disturbing part for me, and the part that in my opinion brought the film full circle, was when uncle Maurice says "Do you want my fingers?" and touches Philips face in a manner similar to spider leg movement. That got me on another level. Also, Philips sort of age regression when confronted with violence or authority figures , such as when he visits the school. He's like a frightened child stuck in a mans body.

I kinda squealed when I saw Alun Armstrong's name flash on screen! He originated the role of Thérnardier in Les Misérables on the West End in 1985!

This film is a deeply disturbing masterpiece, it really got under my skin as a childhood trauma victim myself, it's relatable.

i personally think the whole film is Phillip reliving his childhood and every event that went through with it, but represented as an adult on screen. this would explain the scene where he is in his old school and is chatting about how his teacher will take him to the police station. the film starts and ends with Phillip actually as an adult, the in between is him as a child

Possum was one of those incredible films that was so unsettling I never want to see again... and I can’t recommend it to any friends.

Abuse can really warp a view on reality. When being abused is something one gets used to and kindness is a foreign concept, the puppet seems more normal and familiar with time.

This is the most terrifying movie I’ve ever seen

This movie is so haunting. Not only in it's a great horror that explores really dark and serious themes, but it's also done so well. I love that we're not sure if what is happening is real or not, that we can never be sure of anything, because of how subjective the narration is. And the music just gets on your nerves so much that for me it was more chilling then the creature itself. Thanks for introducing me to this movie!

“The crazy people out there who like spiders” We exist There are dozens of us *DOZENs!*

Whoever designed that puppet did a hell of a job. I'm a huge arachnophobe and I don't necessarily mind puppets (some puppets that is). So that thing in this movie is really just a piece of work and phenomenally designed. I am bot deeply unnerved and wildly impressed on an artistic level.

That jump scare at the end gave me the biggest heart race I've had while watching a movie that I can remember.

I just love the way you explained Punch and Judy “and then beat the shit out of them” lol

Funny this movie came from the creator of Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace!

This made me almost cry... it’s terrible to be human

A fascinating and deeply unsettling film that has been lodged in my brain like a splinter ever since I saw it.

So happy you made a video on this!! A seriously underrated horror movie I feel like no one's seen it

It kinda reminds me of Salad Fingers. With an ominously quiet atmosphere and an unpredictabe "protagonist"

my first theory: it is not about a victim of abuse continuing the cycle. The boy in the box at the end, the kidnapped one, represent his childhood self. (I shit you not, as I was writing this, a spider came down in from of my screen, hanging from a thread from the ceiling... help me) He releases the boy, because he finally stood up to the predator. Notice how the box looks like the bag that he keeps the puppet in? also notice how the boy at the beginning was drawing, like Phillip did as a child. He identifies with the kid and that's we the kid represents him at the end. my second theory: it IS about phillip continuing the cycle, and the times we see him destroy the puppet, are actually times were he is abusing the kid that he has kidnapped, and it is supposed to signify that those who continue the cycle, are people who push down and deny their trauma, who doesnt face the predator. (phillips head is on the spider-possum and this is what he called his abuser, so it can represent him becoming and abuser himself?) only when the predator is faced, he stop abusing. I lean more towards the first one, because I felt really sorry for phillip in the movie. it envoked a lot of empathy for him and his struggle, and it doesnt make sense to me, to envoke that kind of empathy for a pedophile. after all, we also see him and morris/maurice talk about puppets, and maurice says "it runs in the family" - im thinking this is about abuse. but phillip answers; "you are not my father" - as to say; you did not create me, i did not turn out like you.

In the story he gets fired for terrifying the children with Possum’s tongue of fly paper covered in blue bottles.

Honestly, Possum has become one of my favourite films, alongside Stalker; which if you haven’t seen i would highly recommend. It’s quite simply a masterpiece

I thought the reason he was fired was because he brought that puppet out in front of the kids and unintentionally terrified them. Also, that scene where he's between two trees and possum is coming out of the bag - Maybe it's obvious but the trees definitely look like spread legs. You can see the knees. Take from that what you will.

This one got real strange. It was well done - and yes that spider thing was pretty unsettling... but not nearly as unsettling as the end.

Sean Harris is probably one of them really underrated/underused actors, His acting in this film is phenomenal!

This was so unnerving, really got under my skin

Ooh, do I see a video on The House that Jack Built coming up? Cant wait for that one!

this film is so bergman-esque in that it feels like a meditation on a theme with no concrete conclusions as opposed to a narrative. everything in it feels like advancements in the stream of consciousness of one author dealing with an inclination towards extreme guilt and the perversion of the id represented through different characters, storylines, and metaphors. through this existential read of the film, the actual narrative universe of the film takes a back seat to the intellectual experience it provides.

Dude possum is phil's STAND, this is why he can't get rid of it

One horror movie I would like to see a video on is Sleepaway Camp. Anyone else think that sound interesting?

Been saving this as one of those movies "on my list", albeit near the top, but... Ah, what the hell. I can't NOT watch you discuss this immensely intriguing flick!

Spoiler warning So throughout the entire movie Phillip really only smokes, or maybe does only smoke when Maurice is offering him a cigarette, or when he has to speak politely without addressing his trauma. Cigarettes have become a sign of self destruction in media, and thus, I believe the writer meant to imply that Philips' ignoring and non-speaking about his trauma to his abuser is almost related to his smoking habit. In the last scene of the movie, where Maurice attacks Philip, they're not smoking, for obvious reasons, but here's a thought- if the scene was more akin to the tone of the movie, slow burning and disturbing, Let's say Maurice stepped out of the corner, perhaps with Philip sitting on the floor, and started to, act suggestively towards Philip. Keeping with the tone of that, if Maurice had offered him a cigarette, do you believe he would have taken it or not? In a hopeful ending I believe him not taking the cigarette would have broken into Maurice fighting Philip, Philip killing Maurice, and letting the boy out of the box. Maybe a negative ending would have been him taking the cigarette, and then seeing Maurice in his stead letting the boy out of the box before he "began" Just a thought about the small symbol of a cigarette so don't take it like I'm saying the movie would have been any different without smoking, but I'm curious since this movie was packed full of symbolism while being very deliberate and meaningful in almost every encounter.

SO HAPPY you covered this! Still one of my favourites to this dayyy!