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Director: Andrzej Zulawski Starring: Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Margit Carstensen, Heinz Bennent, Johanna Hofer Screenplay: Andrzej Zulawski Country: France, Germany

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Mark suspects Anna is cheating on him, and he is right, but not in the way he thinks. He finds a postcard to Anna from someone named Heinrich, and sets out to catch the lovers in the act. This leads him down a dark and disturbing path. Let it be said here and now that part of Possession's 'enjoyment' is in not knowing what's coming next. If you want to go in fresh, best to stop reading and just watch the film, even though I'll try not to give much away. It's hard, however, to avoid certain infamous shots if you're looking on the internet for information about the film, shots which may dull some of the impact of what comes later in the film.

First and foremost, it has to be said that the acting - whilst undeniably effective at creating a tense and unhinged atmosphere - is dialled up to 11 right from the outset. Neill and Adjani adopt a very over-the-top, almost theatrical style which will no doubt prove a dealbreaker for some viewers. Neill feels occasionally out of his depth but for the most part he's solid in an extremely aggressive and emotive role. Adjani is superb even though the requirement is for her emotionally damaged character to spend great chunks of the film thrashing around, smashing herself into walls, shrieking and grunting and causing self-harm. She has a number of stand-out moments - one in which she gives a monologue to camera like the ultimate Oscars promo, and the other in the film's most memorable and notorious scene which takes place in a subway tunnel. Heinz Bennent, who plays Anna's lover Heinrich, oscillates from smarmy to unhinged and back again like a ping-pong ball - unfortunately most of his scenes come off as silly rather than serious. The problem is that everything is so heightened that no one feels like a real person. People move and talk and act like no one you would have seen in the real world unless you happen to work at an insane asylum.

Still, Possession has an undeniable ace in its sleeve with creature effects by the legendary (and sadly departed) Carlo Rambaldi, probably best known for designing Spielberg's E.T. His creations here are sinister and grotesque, yet at the same time somehow pitiful. Wonderful stuff.

Zulawski's camera is as unsettled as the characters, usually always on the move, rotating around Anna and Mark, coming in for sweaty close-ups, feverishly following them as they stagger or crash or smack each other into the next scene. And the West German locations sell the depressing squalor - they're all grey streets and grim-faced brick apartment blocks. And just to set the scene right from the beginning, the very first shot of Possession happens to be of the Berlin Wall.

Being ludicrously marked in the UK as a "video nasty" and briefly banned back in the 80's has meant that Possession has taken on an aura of infamy which it doesn't deserve. This has more quality and emotional depth than most of the films on the BBFC's Video Nasties list. But, to be sure, there are some scenes that are a little eyebrow-raising, even by today's standards - without wanting to give too much away, let's just say things get a little foul and gloopy. One might even mistake this as an early Cronenberg film, such is its queasy blend of sex and gore. The set-piece in a subway station tunnel which wouldn't be out of place in something like Street Trash, which was probably the reason it drew the ire of the BBFC.

Beyond the showstopping bits, the whole movie projects an aura of odd, even in the more "mundane" scenes: Anna sits down on an otherwise empty train right next to a dishevelled man who proceeds to take a banana from her shopping bag. The most unsubtle private eye in the world trails Anna like a kid spastically lunging after a wayward soccer ball. Upon hearing of Anna's infidelities, Mark goes into a weird state which sees him act catatonic, then like an infant, then...then like I-don't-know-what. In one scene, Heinrich acts like a stoned philosopher bouncing from wall to wall like he's fried his brains and morphed into a video game character. And Adjani actually plays two roles in the film; Anna, and her doppleganger schoolteacher, who is coincidentally Bob's teacher. The reason does become apparent later on...sort of. I think.

In truth I really don't know what a lot of Possession means. I'm sure if you dig deep enough into the religious iconography and/or have a degree in philosophy it probably plays out brilliantly and you'll be sitting and rubbing your pointy goatee and nodding in a sagelike way. For this pleb, a lot of it feels like David Lynch weirdness for the sake of weirdness. I don't disapprove; perhaps it will take a few more viewings to unknot Possession's twisty secrets. Or perhaps it's less deep than it seems. In the features, director Zulawski explains that the movie formed from his broken marriage, and mentions that there was also a Heinrich involved in the separation. I assume that his marriage formed the bare-bones of the story and not the lunacy that comes later, otherwise -- well, let's just leave it at that, shall we.

If you like your horror films a little weird with heavy doses of the unexplainable then you'll warm to Possession like I did. People looking for a straight-up slasher or monster feature will undoubtedly be put off by the film's eccentricities, the off-the-wall performances or the artistic wankiness. It's bold, creepy and unique, a genuine oddity.