Robert Pattinson Will Remake This Extreme 1980s Horror Movie

One of the most extreme and controversial horror movies of the 1980s is getting a remake. Robert Pattinson and Parker Finn are attached to a remake of 1981’s Possession. The Hollywood Reporter has the news that Pattinson will produce the film, and may also star in it.

The film is still in its early stages, and a script has not yet been completed, but several studios, including A24, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, and Warner Bros, are bidding on the film. Finn, the helmer of the smash hit 2022 shocker Smile and its upcoming sequel, the latter of which will hit theaters this October, is attached to write and direct; Pattinson will produce, and may also star in the film. Pattinson, who has run screaming from his matinée heartthrob past with a series of edgy and unusual projects, hasn’t been seen on the screen since 2022’s The Batman; he is set to return as the Caped Crusader in The Batman‘s still-in-development sequel and in Bong Joon-ho‘s hotly anticipated science fiction mind-bender Mickey 17, which will bow in January 2025.

What Is ‘Possession’ About?

Possession centers around the deteriorating marriage between international spy Mark (Sam Neill) and his wife, Anna (Isabelle Adjani), in 1980s West Berlin. What happens next is difficult to quantify, as it may or may not be taking place in Anna’s fractured psyche, but it seems to involve doppelgängers, murder, and most infamously, Anna developing an intimate relationship with a multi-tentacled Lovecraftian creature. It was written and directed by Polish auteur Andrzej Żuławski, with its content reflecting his own painful divorce. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1981, where Adjani’s unforgettable performance won the Best Actress Award. The film’s graphic content, including an infamous sequence of an on-screen miscarriage, made it hugely controversial, especially in the UK, where it was branded a “video nasty” and released only in a heavily-sanitized version. In recent years, however, it has undergone a critical reappraisal, and is considered a masterpiece of psychological horror on par with Roman Polanski‘s Repulsion.

Finn will produce the Possession remake via his Bad Feeling production company, while Patterson will produce via Icki Eneo Arlo. Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee will also produce; he recently produced another highly-successful creature feature in the form of Zach Cregger‘s Barbarian.

The remake of Possession is still in early development; no studio, casting, or release date has yet been revealed. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.