Matthew Holness is probably still best known as the man who played Garth Marenghi – author, dreamweaver, visionary, plus actor – in Channel 4’s cult comedy Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace. Where that series poked fun at cheap 80s supernatural horror tropes, Holness’ directorial feature debut in Possum finds him swapping absurdist laughs for blood, blood, blood. And bits of sick. By which we mean Possum is a serious, brooding horror, hoping to crawl under your skin and stay there.
The film stars Sean Harris, fresh from Mission: Impossible – Fallout, as disgraced puppeteer Philip who returns to the Norfolk town where he grew up to destroy Possum, the puppet that plagues him, and face up to his malicious stepfather. According to Holness the film deals with “real-life horror”, with an atmosphere steeped in silence and isolation. Empire has an exclusive look at the trailer, which you can watch right here:
The film is hitting UK cinemas on 26 October – but horror fans can sneak in an early viewing at Frightfest this Bank Holiday weekend on 27 August.
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