Get Out (2017) & Possessor (2020): Body Snatching & Mind Control | EP28

Two mind transfers. Two terrifying procedures. Two of the most disturbing explorations of identity in modern science fiction horror.

In this episode of Journey Through Sci-Fi, we continue our Mad Science season with a double bill that pushes the idea of scientific control over the human mind to its limits. Jordan Peele’s Get Out (2017) and Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor (2020) both explore what happens when technology allows one person to invade and control another person’s body.

From hypnotic manipulation and the chilling “Sunken Place” to brutal cyberpunk assassinations carried out through mind-transfer technology, these films tap into one of sci-fi’s oldest fears: losing control of your own consciousness.

LISTEN BELOW:

In this episode we discuss:

• Why Get Out works as both social horror and science fiction

• The disturbing logic behind the Coagula procedure

• How Possessor turns mind-transfer technology into brutal cyberpunk horror

• The sci-fi tradition of body snatching and identity loss

• Why stories about losing control of your own mind remain so powerful

Get Out (2017): Social Horror Meets Science Fiction

The Armitage family’s horrifying “Coagula procedure” allows wealthy white elites to transplant their consciousness into younger Black bodies, leaving the original mind trapped in the terrifying Sunken Place.

Jordan Peele cleverly smuggles this sci-fi twist into what initially feels like a social thriller. The film slowly builds tension through microaggressions, uncanny behaviour and subtle hints that something is deeply wrong — before revealing its disturbing mad science concept in the film’s second half.

The result is a film that sits firmly within the tradition of body-snatching science fiction, echoing classics like:

• The Stepford Wives (1975)

• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 / 1978)

• The Boys from Brazil (1978)

But Peele updates the trope for a modern audience, using sci-fi horror to explore power, privilege and identity in contemporary America.

Possessor (2020): Cyberpunk Mind Control

If Get Out slowly reveals its science fiction elements, Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor dives straight into them.

Set in a cold, corporate cyberpunk world, the film follows Tasya Vos — an elite assassin who uses experimental technology to possess other people’s bodies and carry out assassinations on behalf of a shadowy corporation.

The process allows her consciousness to inhabit another person’s mind, but each mission erodes her sense of identity. As the boundaries between host and assassin begin to blur, the film descends into disturbing territory where two consciousnesses fight for control of the same body.

Cronenberg’s film pushes the mad science concept into full body horror territory, using visceral practical effects and surreal imagery to visualise the psychological damage caused by repeated mind transfers.

The result is one of the most unsettling sci-fi horror films of the last decade.

Mad Science and the Horror of Losing Yourself

What links these two films — beyond their disturbing mind-control technologies — is their exploration of identity and power.

Both stories feature scientists who have perfected a revolutionary technology, but instead of using it for the benefit of humanity, they weaponise it for personal gain.

• In Get Out, the technology is used by wealthy elites to steal bodies and prolong their lives.

• In Possessor, it becomes a tool for corporate murder and control.

In both cases, the science works perfectly. The horror comes from how it’s used.

This is classic mad science storytelling: incredible breakthroughs corrupted by human ambition, greed and a complete disregard for the victims.

Mad Science Season

This episode is part of our ongoing Mad Science series, where we explore some of the most disturbing scientific experiments in science fiction cinema — from genetic manipulation and artificial life to brain transplants and identity theft.

Because sometimes the most terrifying monster in science fiction…is the scientist.