'Possession' is one of the more unsettling movies I've ever seen

A friend recently asked me what the scariest movie I've ever seen was -- and that's a surprisingly difficult question to answer. My first instinct would be to say The Shining -- which has emerged as my favorite film of all time in recent years -- but it's not exactly a terrifying movie, more a fascinating one whose mysteries make it a creepy masterpiece.

I ultimately settled on The Exorcist, which is still a shocking and horrifying movie, that could probably never be made today.

But, then I recently saw the insane 1981 cult film Possession -- which has risen up the ranks of most horror movie aficionados and is now widely seen as a misunderstood classics -- and it really weirded me out in a profound way. It's probably the most unsettling movie I've watched since Lost Highway, another movie I nearly named when asked that 'scariest movie' question.

Possession doesn't have traditional jump scares or traditional, grisly gore effects -- it's far stranger and more insidious. It's probably fair to say it had an outsized influence on movies like Mother! which test audiences' constitution and forces you to confront incredibly uncomfortable emotions.

It begins nominally as a movie about a deeply disturbed relationship which is coming to an abrupt end -- director Andrzej Żuławski's camera is almost always moving and swooping from strange angles and blind spots as we watch a tumultuous relationship (conveyed in riveting fashion by a young Sam Neil and an incredible Isabelle Adjani) devolve into physical brutality right before our eyes.

Not unlike in Lynch's work, without any clear indicators we seem to leap into a dream-like, surreal state where it's unclear if what we're watching is an internal projection from the Neil's character's mind or actual events unfolding before us.

Some of these elements are impossible to describe -- but the movie takes on heady themes of duality, sexuality, longing, anger, resentment, obsession and of course, possession.

Żuławski really puts his actors through some insane challenging paces -- for instance, in the film's most infamous scene Adjani delivers a tour de force physical meltdown in an empty subway tunnel that literally had me cringing with horror.

This is not shock treatment horror -- this is more disturbing and strange -- like an earworm or parasite burrowing, That said, it is not a traditional movie that will be enjoyed by most people,

That said, it's one of the most beautiful looking movies I've ever seen -- I had no idea where it was going at any given moment. Every time I thought I was able to process it something even crazier bursts on the screen.

I suppose you could reduce the movie to the simple idea that it takes the idea of a 'horrific break-up' to its greatest visual and emotional extreme. All I can say is I'm glad I've never had a break-up effect me this deeply.

It's really hard to put into words but it's just on a total different wavelength from other films I've seen both in terms of performance and narrative. You could watch it with the sound off and it might be just as effective.

As you've probably gathered -- I watch a lot of movies. I love horror films, even though most are failures, because when they work they can achieve the sort of emotional,visual peak of cinema at its best. While not a traditional 'scary' movie by any means, Possession has at least a half dozen sort of indelible, madcap, unforgettable moments that rattled me.

It's not for the faint of heart, but if you are up for challenging, emotionally complex 'horror' -- it's worth looking into.