Possession: Sky’s 5-part TV series, connects the brutal and supernatural story of enslaved inhabitants in a Jamaican plantation 300 years ago with enduring injustices exposed by a young lawyer in present day.
Copyright: ©Sky
Credit: Sky
Fans of the supernatural thriller and eerie mystery genres will love Possession. The stunningly shot series displays the vibrant energy of Jamaica as the backdrop to a woman’s journey into long-buried secrets, identity and the past’s enduring hold on the present.
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Starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Loki, Misbehaviour) Possession initially, tantalisingly floats the idea of a £50million inheritance being snatched away from a wealthy white aristocrat, Oliver Connaught, and awarded to a mysterious local man, Cudjoe East. But that’s just where the story begins.
Claudia McKenzie (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), is an ambitious young lawyer. Her law firm selects her She is selected by her law firm because she is Black, to go to Jamaica to protect the interests of a wealthy white aristocrat (played by Jonny Lee Miller (The Crown, Elementary).
On arriving in Jamaica to defend her client’s inheritance claim, a series of incidents begin to raise her alarm bells. She realises that the disputed plantation is the very place that has haunted her nightmares in recent weeks. As Claudia and Oliver dig deeper, they uncover a disturbing link between the plantation’s brutal past and injustices still shaping the present.
Copyright: ©Sky
Image credit: Nile Saulter (Photographer)
Upon meeting the mysterious Cudjoe East played by Sheldon Shepherd (Yardie, 2018), Claudia soon recognises that there are supernatural matters at play and not everything is as it seems. As we have seen in other horror genre films, such as Get Out, the real “monster” is soon revealed to be not the vicious or obvious threat, but rather the unexpected.
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An important theme in Possession is the idea of homecoming to Jamaica for Claudia. Having lost her mother through childbirth, she finally gets to meet her only known relative, her aunt Mercy, played by Nadean Rawlins (Bob Marley: One Love, Sprinter). The character Mercy truly brought some well-timed comic relief that was much needed among the eerie segments and jump-scares.
Copyright: ©Sky
Image credit: Des Willie (Photographer)
One of the most poignant aspects of the series was how the writers dealt with a hospital scene featuring Claudia’s mum. In a supernatural thriller filled with violence and racial hate, the inconsiderate healthcare experienced by Claudia’s mum hit hardest. The knowledge that her experience is one that is faced by Black women even today, made this, easily the scariest scene in the whole series. The writers must be commended for treating this reality so well.
Possession is written and created by Karla Crome. The series is based on an original story created by Jefferson Bannis and directed by Storm Saulter.
All episodes of Possession are available from Thursday 6 August on Sky and streaming service NOW.
