Thriller (TV Series) Possession (1973) User Reviews

Effective sophomore effort

[analoguebubblebath · 7/10 · 28 August 2005]

'Possession' was the second episode of Thriller to be aired and consolidates the impressive beginning made by 'Lady Killer'.

John Carson excels as Ray Burns, a successful businessman who moves into a stylish country house with his wife Penny (played by Joanna Dunham). However the house holds a grim secret which reveals itself as being the site of a shocking murder some twenty years before. Naturally such an event does not occur without consequences and the house gradually takes on a haunted air.

The supporting cast is well served by Hilary Hardiman who plays the psychic medium called in to investigate the strange going-ons and James Cossins as the fussy and officious estate agent Kellet. Many viewers will recognise him as a particularly awkward guest in 'Fawlty Towers'.

The conclusion while not wholly surprising, is entertaining in its lead-up and the overall story makes for compulsive viewing.

Eerie Happenings!!!

[kidboots · 8/10 · 20 September 2011]

The first thing I noticed about this excellent episode was how much like James Mason John Carson sounded, it was quite extraordinary!! "Possession" starts off in 1953 when a woman is murdered at an isolated farm house by an unseen man. 20 years later the house is finally sold to Ray and Penny Burns (Carson and Joanna Dunham) - Ray is beside himself with glee, he has always been keen to live in this house, Penny is not sure, in fact she is not at all keen and soon has reason to suspect her feelings were right.

The odd job man uncovers a skeleton in the cellar, the radio plays old time dance music and suddenly, when rooms begin to look as though a bomb has hit them, Penny calls in a medium. The medium senses an evil presence - usually when Ray is about and it seems that the evil spirit has passed to his body - the eerie whistle, the clicking fingers, the disappearing knives etc. A woman is then found murdered in London and Penny finds one of the stolen rings in his drawer - is Ray a cold blooded killer or is he possessed???

With mediums, seances and eerie happenings I put this episode in the supernatural file. When "Thriller" first aired it had a few "supernatural" episodes ("A Place to Die", "Spell of Evil"), gradually though, it seemed to concentrate more on the "a killer walks among us" type of story. Anyway "Possession" ends in a completely different way. If you have ever seen a particularly famous movie thriller starring Ingrid Bergman, it should become clear!! Joanna Dunham made a very pretty Penny - I could remember her from "Van Der Valk" where she played Arlette.

Particularly good drama

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 21 December 2017]

I have to admit, as I was watching this I had my review in my mind ready to come, 'couple move into new house,' there's an evil spirit, a murder etc, and I'd have gone on to moan about how generic this was, and how many dramas from the 1970's followed this formula.......but, looking back in hindsight, the misdirection was really well done, I was taken in my the deception. Retrospectively I would class this as excellent, the story is actually brilliant, and the performances are superb, John Carson is utterly brilliant as Ray Burns, he captivates in every scene, he manages to be both measured and menacing, he's great. Joanna Dunham is particularly good as Penny also.

I wish I'd worked it out quicker, this was excellent. 8/10

A happily married British couple move into a sinister old house in the country. Strange forces begin to take control of their "dream home", and eventually the husband.

[verna55 · 25 September 2000]

Videotaped TV thriller is undeniably familiar material, and often looks like one of those low-budget Dan Curtis/supernatural horror flicks popular on television in the '70's. But the British cast is pretty good, and there are some effectively creepy moments. As far as an evening's worth of amateurish entertainment goes, you could do much worse.

possession,knives and whistle

[AvionPrince16 · 8/10 · 20 November 2023]

I need to say that i really enjoyed the episode . The ending made sense and the fact that the possession was not a really a posssession but more a subconscious thing that the man cant really control was interesting.

I still love that ambience,mood ,sound of the episode and really fit very well . I like the fact that they slowly build something and dont rush things with characters ,plot and events .it really go in a natural way and it make it pretty believable and reality and fiction are mixed and let us petty horrified to discover the truth about the husband and his desire for more money .a nice episode and love how simple it is but pfetty effective . And the end was pretty unexpected and really make sense and it can really be believable .

Poorly Executed

[Theo Robertson · 4/10 · 12 September 2013]

A couple buy a house in the countryside not knowing it was a scene of a brutal murder several years earlier . Right away with a premise like this and with a title like that you're expecting all types of supernatural horror . The problem is with THRILLER you get the impression the show is pulling its punches when it attempts an out and out supernatural tale almost as if Clemens and co are terrified of the show being labeled horror . That said I'm not watching the series in chronological order and had to remind myself this was the second broadcast episode and the show is probably still trying to find its feet

The other problem is that not a lot happens and this might be the problem in having a show running in the region of 70 odd minutes an episode . Say what you like about HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR but those episodes had a run time of 50 minutes per episode which meant the storytelling was more compact and streamlined . That show also benefited from being shot on film and while scenes were no doubt written as being spooky and atmospheric with a mysterious whistling of Greensleeves the fact that the episode is filmed on videotape means atmosphere is missing