KnotMissPriceless
Why so much hype?
Platicsco
Good story, Not enough for a whole film
SanEat
A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."
ElijahCSkuggs
Possessed begins when we witness a police situation turn bizarre as hell. A guy is running around with a knife trying to kill this lady who's his relative or something. The cops see this from a distance and try to stop this madness. A ridiculous struggle occurs but eventually the madman is subdued. But not for long as he's cuffed to a stationary object swinging that knife he's blown away by the lesser of the two cops. Instead of dying his face swells and turns blue. Another round of gunfire puts him down for good. But after this crazy event the luck of these two coppers goes from bad, to flat out awful. More crazy make-up effects, poltergeist ripoffs, and just a whole lot of wild stuff goes down.Possessed is a cool possession flick that delivers a couple chills because of it's weirdo make-up, solidly spooky atmosphere and loud sound effects. The film's only problem is that it tends to drag a little bit. It seems it was trying to take itself too seriously, when instead it should have just went for more insane possession scares. But when it does shine it shines pretty bright. The awesome invisible rape and titillating nudity come to mind.Definitely a recommendable film if you enjoy weirdo Asian cinema and or possession flicks. And it's got a sequel which is even better than the first!
fertilecelluloid
David Lai's cheapo possession flick is a little too tedious for my tastes with too few thrills. Skin is ripped off a face by the owner (a decent enough effect) and there is an inventive sequence in which a falling woman manages to hang herself. There is a mild rape sequence, too, some gratuitous nudity (breasts of a Korean woman), and endless ghostly transformations and assorted nonsense. But none of these pluses paper over the fact that "Possessed" is ineptly directed and written, and thirty minutes too long. The film could be seen as a precursor to Japanese bore-fests such as "The Ring" and "The Grudge" because there is an emphasis on pasty-faced figures lurking in familiar locations who are not one bit scary (unless you're seven years old). Ultimately, it's quite boring, repetitive and uneventful.
HumanoidOfFlesh
An insane man is shot dead by two cops,Kung and Hsiao,after he refused to listen to them and tried to kill a woman. After that,the two cops have to deal with the ghosts and Hsiao's girlfriend is haunted as well..."Possessed" by David Lai is an enjoyable HK possession flick.The film is not as intense and gruesome as "Flesh and the Bloody Terror" or "Calamity of Snakes",but the skinning sequence is quite nasty and memorable.Throw in also some unwarranted sex scenes,ghostly rape and a requisite battling back against the spirits and you got yourself a fairly good time despite."Possessed" is available separately or bundled together with the sequel,unfortunately the regarded "Possessed II" is quite heavily cut compared to other Hong Kong video versions.8 out of 10.
EVOL666
Before Hong Kong really hit it's stride in the exploit film market with the advent of the "notorious" CATIII films in the mid-90's, they were churning out tons of quirky horror films that all revolved around the same themes - possession, revenge, ghosts and demons, and sorcery and black magic. There are numerous examples of such films from this era in HK horror film history - such as DEVIL FETUS, SEEDING OF A GHOST, CENTIPEDE HORROR, etc...and in my opinion, most of them pretty much blow. I can't say that POSSESSED is too much better - but it better done and more entertaining than most of the stuff to come from this time frame in HK horror...A cop is terrorized by strange happenings after killing a machete-wielding weirdo. Things fly around his crib, his girlfriend is raped by an invisible force, he has a "vision" of pulling his face off in the bathroom mirror, etc...which leads him to get help from a local sorceress to end the curse.The story-line can pretty much be cut-and-pasted from any of these films to the next with very little loss of coherency. I don't know why all of the films from the early 80's in HK dealt with pretty much the EXACT same subjects...all I can say is I bet the horror audience of the day got pretty bored watching the same film over and over. Not only this - but certain scenes from POSSESSED were lifted directly from other films such as POLTERGEIST, THE ENTITY, and THE EXORCIST. But I will say that POSSESSED is a little more entertaining than some of the others of the genre - the FX and production values are a little better which make the film a little more enjoyable. Recommended to the hardcore horror-junkie that has to see everything or those specifically into early 80's HK horror. 7/10
