Possession - Series 1, Episode 2, Saturday 21st April 1973

The story...

Newly-weds Penny and Ray Burns move into what seems like a dream home in the countryside. However renovations in the cellar make a disturbing discovery - a body buried under the concrete floor which turns out to be a previous owner who disappeared twenty years earlier. A shocking discovery in its own right but strange things start happening in the house with Ray at the centre of them...

Review

This was the first supernatural offering to appear on screen in the UK, a week before Someone at the Top of the Stairs although the latter had been produced earlier. Maybe some lessons had been learned because this is a more polished affair. It is perhaps more measured and less likely to raise the doubts provoked in some viewers by Someone..., although for me the latter retains the edge due to its more sinister and provocative quality. Both episodes are though highly impressive and probably the most frightening instalments of the show. Maybe the fact that both take place almost entirely in domestic settings makes them closer to our experience and therefore more unsettling.

Another advantage that Possession has for me is its small cast and intense focus on a few household sets. The only location filming consists of establishing shots of the new family home in a deserted countryside. This could very much have been performed in the theatre. Only five characters feature much on screen - Penny, Ray, Cecily, estate agent Kellet and Filson - and this allows them to be more strongly drawn. The small cast and limited sets also heighten the atmosphere. Maybe some critics may feel the pace is a little slow (a common criticism of Series 1) but in this case that is no bad thing as it allows the tension to rise further. 

Possession almost revels in its traditional English identity. There is no American character in sight, with the only American influence being the opening radio report of President Eisenhower's accession in 1953. Almost certainly had this been made two or three years later there would have been an American character squeezed in - most probably in the Penny Burns role. The American characters are fine but those episodes without one work perfectly well. Having said that the image of England portrayed here - rural, affluent and traditional - is one that often meets with American approval.

The teaser is short and highly impressive. It is very stark with no dialogue save for the radio report and with the murder off-screen, epitomising the Thriller style. There are no twists or real surprises in the story. It is a very straightforward one. Almost immediately it is clear that Ray Burns is the murderer, the only real doubt being whether he is "possessed", mentally disturbed or a killer who is triggered by certain circumstances - in particular the prospect of money. The success is how well it depicts the slow uncovering of Ray's secret and what he will be able to do before being unmasked and apprehended. John Carson is a mainstay of the British horror genre and is excellent here - as he is in a rather more dishevelled role in Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are. He handles with ease the depiction of an apparently normal, likeable man who clearly has a sinister edge and is prone to transformation into a deranged killer. Ray plays the role of sceptic very well as his wife - in typical Thriller heroine style - very soon senses danger. His jokiness about the seance is particularly effective. Later we start to see him realising he has a problem and struggling to overcome his possessed or troubled mind and these tensions are skilfully handled by Carson.

Penny is the first blonde English heroine seen in the series. She is probably the most traditional woman seen in the programme, a housewife who spends much of her time in the kitchen. She is quite happy to "obey" her husband which certainly dates the series but works very well within the story. Despite her traditional role she is still quite prepared to outline her discontents and ultimately confront Ray. Joanna Dunham has to play "on edge" almost throughout but does a very good job. The role of the medium Cecily Rafting is excellent. Cecily's total confidence in the face of great danger is extraordinary. The seance (below) and her attempts to "cleanse" Ray are superb, chilling viewing. Hilary Hardiman deserves great credit for her performance in a very demanding role. She was an actress with few screen appearances and on the surface of this episode that is unfortunate as she had much to offer.

Kellet, Ray and Penny watch anxiously as Cecily passes-out during the seance

The character of the builder Filson is another attraction. Filson is both amusing but very disconcerting, most notably when he looks on in the cellar behind an oblivious Penny. His remark about the police working in the cellar and, "none of them paid-up union members," is both funny and a welcome reference to the wider social world. Athol Coats is in fine form in this role. It’s not absolutely clear whether all the humour was intended but it still works well. With his broad rural accent Filson was one of many yokel characters to create unease in the series - A Place to Die and Kiss Me and Die being other notable examples. The estate agent Kellet is another example of a fine part. He is in two minds about the possibility of psychic influences and falls neatly in between the likes of Penny and Cecily on the one hand and the sceptic Ray on the other. Kellet's final line is a great one and James Cossins gives a strong performance.

There is a gruesome dimension to the story that is rarely seen in the earlier series. Blood appears on the 1953 calendar and in another scene. The uncovering of the skull and remnants of Miss Millington's skeleton is quite strong stuff and one wonders whether the producers then backed away from such blood-letting. Despite all this the violence is kept off-screen with none of the murders actually seen, and this was always one of Thriller's strengths.

The climax of the story is good if flawed. It is maybe a little clichéd but it's still dramatic and very effective. The violence at this climax is not wholly convincing but Thriller never depended on realistic violence for its success. Despite these small reservations about the climax this is one of the best and certainly most disturbing instalments.