Possessor
Tasya Vos is a corporate agent who uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people's bodies, driving them to commit assassinations for the benefit of the company. While she has a special gift for the work, her experiences on these jobs have caused a dramatic change in her, and in her own life she struggles to suppress violent memories and urges. As her mental strain intensifies, she begins to lose control, and soon she finds herself trapped in the mind of a man whose identity threatens to destroy her own.
The film commercial failure against its small-scale budget of $2.5M, earning $911K globally (-64% loss). While initial box office returns were modest, the film has gained appreciation for its compelling narrative within the horror genre.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Possessor (2020) exhibits strategically placed narrative design, characteristic of Brandon Cronenberg's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 43 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.1, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Tasya Vos
Colin Tate
Girder
Ava Parse
John Parse
Michael Vos
Main Cast & Characters
Tasya Vos
Played by Andrea Riseborough
An elite corporate assassin who uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people's bodies and carry out high-profile hits, struggling to maintain her own identity between missions.
Colin Tate
Played by Christopher Abbott
A data miner engaged to the daughter of a powerful CEO, who becomes an unwilling host for Tasya's consciousness during a corporate assassination mission.
Girder
Played by Jennifer Jason Leigh
Tasya's handler and the head of the clandestine assassination organization, a calculating mentor figure who monitors her psychological stability between jobs.
Ava Parse
Played by Tuppence Middleton
Colin's fiancee and the daughter of wealthy data-mining CEO John Parse, whose family becomes the target of the assassination plot.
John Parse
Played by Sean Bean
A powerful and ruthless data-mining CEO who runs a surveillance empire and becomes the primary target of the assassination contract.
Michael Vos
Played by Rossif Sutherland
Tasya's estranged husband who remains unaware of her true profession, representing the domestic life she can no longer fully connect with.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Tasya Vos completes a possession assignment, stabbing a target and forcing police to kill her host body - establishing her violent work as a corporate assassin who hijacks people's minds.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Girder briefs Tasya on her next assignment: possess Colin Tate, boyfriend of Ava Parse, to assassinate her wealthy father John Parse and frame Colin, allowing a corporate takeover of Parse's data-mining empire.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Tasya fully possesses Colin Tate's body and wakes up in his life, committing to the mission by inhabiting his identity and relationship with Ava Parse., moving from reaction to action.
At 51 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat During the assassination attempt at the Parse mansion, Tasya-as-Colin kills John Parse with a fireplace poker, but Colin's consciousness violently resurges, fighting Tasya for control of his body - the mission falls apart as the host awakens., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 77 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Colin-in-Tasya's consciousness forces her to watch as he murders her husband Michael, then threatens their son Ira - the death of her family and her complete loss of control represent total psychological collapse., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 82 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Tasya realizes the only way to regain control and complete her extraction is to fully embrace violence and destroy Colin entirely - she must kill the part of herself that wanted connection and become purely the assassin., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Possessor's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs systematic plot point analysis that identifies crucial turning points. By mapping Possessor against these established plot points, we can identify how Brandon Cronenberg utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Possessor within the horror genre.
Brandon Cronenberg's Structural Approach
Among the 2 Brandon Cronenberg films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.2, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Possessor takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Brandon Cronenberg filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional horror films include Thinner, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Mary Reilly. For more Brandon Cronenberg analyses, see Infinity Pool.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Tasya Vos completes a possession assignment, stabbing a target and forcing police to kill her host body - establishing her violent work as a corporate assassin who hijacks people's minds.
Theme
Girder asks Tasya, "How do you feel about the work?" and discusses the psychological toll of inhabiting other bodies and lives, introducing the film's central question about identity and control.
Worldbuilding
Tasya returns home to her husband and son, struggling to reconnect. We learn she's estranged from her family, undergoes debriefing sessions with handler Girder, and works for a shadowy organization that uses brain-implant technology for assassinations.
Disruption
Girder briefs Tasya on her next assignment: possess Colin Tate, boyfriend of Ava Parse, to assassinate her wealthy father John Parse and frame Colin, allowing a corporate takeover of Parse's data-mining empire.
Resistance
Tasya studies Colin's life, practices his mannerisms, and undergoes the possession procedure. She hesitates during preparation, showing signs of mental strain. The organization monitors her closely as she embeds herself in Colin's consciousness.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Tasya fully possesses Colin Tate's body and wakes up in his life, committing to the mission by inhabiting his identity and relationship with Ava Parse.
Mirror World
Tasya-as-Colin navigates Colin's intimate relationship with Ava, experiencing genuine connection and domesticity that mirrors what Tasya has lost in her own life, creating a thematic counterpoint to her fragmented identity.
Premise
Tasya operates within Colin's life, gathering intelligence on John Parse, attending family events, and planning the assassination. She experiences Colin's memories and desires, finding herself increasingly drawn into his existence and struggling to maintain her mission focus.
Midpoint
During the assassination attempt at the Parse mansion, Tasya-as-Colin kills John Parse with a fireplace poker, but Colin's consciousness violently resurges, fighting Tasya for control of his body - the mission falls apart as the host awakens.
Opposition
Colin takes control and learns about the possession technology. He goes on the run, uses Tasya's memories against her handlers, and violently confronts the organization while Tasya's consciousness remains trapped. Colin kills Tasya's husband and seeks revenge, while Tasya fights to regain dominance.
Collapse
Colin-in-Tasya's consciousness forces her to watch as he murders her husband Michael, then threatens their son Ira - the death of her family and her complete loss of control represent total psychological collapse.
Crisis
Tasya battles Colin in a surreal psychological landscape within their shared consciousness, confronting fragmented memories and identities as she processes the complete destruction of her separate life and fights for survival.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Tasya realizes the only way to regain control and complete her extraction is to fully embrace violence and destroy Colin entirely - she must kill the part of herself that wanted connection and become purely the assassin.
Synthesis
Tasya executes Colin by shooting him/herself in the head, finally severing the connection. She extracts from his dying body and returns to her own consciousness, completing the termination and extraction protocol.
Transformation
Tasya sits with Ava Parse (now in control of her father's company), pretending to be a stranger, showing she has fully fragmented - she no longer recognizes or claims her own identity, having become a perfect hollow vessel for possession work.