It takes a while before you see the “so-called” “opening credits” roll in Mimi Cave’s decadently horrifying directorial debut “Fresh.” That’s probably because, as wonderful as the film’s first act is, we ain’t seen nothing yet.
“Fresh”The latest in a long, long list of terrible online dates for Noa, (Daisy Edgar Jones), “War of the Worlds”). She hates the modern courtship process — and with good cause — but, dang it, it’s the 21st century, and her options seem limited to swiping right and hoping for the best or a lifetime of lousy loneliness.
So it’s something of a shock when she actually meets a real live person, in a real-life grocery store, who shows an interest her and doesn’t seem like a total sack of crap. Steve has great taste in produce (yes, cotton candy grapes are real, and they’re fantastic). He’s also got a great sense of humor, and he’s a doctor, and he looks just like Sebastian Stan, so he seems like he might be a winner. He even eschews social media because it’s gauche and he’s oh so romantic and he wants to take Noa on a surprise weekend getaway to a mystery location and…
Oh, those red flags. Red flags! Noa’s best friend Mollie (Jojo T. Gibbs, “Twenties”) almost derails this whole movie when she points out that, in this day and age, not having any way to track a person’s identity online, coupled with a sudden desire to move to what can only be called “a second location,”This is very suspicious.
Stan and Edgar-Jones have such a natural chemistry and their script by Laurynkahn is nimble.“Ibiza”) keeps the warning signs tucked so snuggly beneath a weighted blanket of Noa’s relief from humdrum contemporary dating anxiety, that we don’t look down on her for taking a chance and going away with Steve after all. Perhaps everything will turn out fine. Sure, there’s no cell phone service, but — uh-oh, that’s actually never a good sign.
What happens next may be slightly predictable, if only because we’re in a horror movie, but like James Wan’s awe-inspiring “Malignant,” the real surprise doesn’t stem from the plot. It’s all about the presentation. Yes, it’s grotesque. Yes, it’ll make your stomach churn. But best/worst of all, Mimi Cave will not stop trying to recapture the early, whimsical romantic connection between Noa and Steve, to the point that the true discomfort comes not from any mangled flesh but from the film’s continued attempts to make nice with a flesh-mangler.
Structurally, “Fresh”It has much in common with abduction movies like “Misery” “The Human Centipede,” where the villain’s bizarre obsessions drive the story, and mutilation is a natural (albeit terrifying) extension of their pathology. Like many films that share some DNA, this film is also similar to “Fresh,” it’s the villain who takes center stage. We haven’t seen Sebastian Stan operate on this level of camp showmanship since the climax of Renny Harlin’s “The Covenant.” He’s appealing when he takes himself seriously. He’s a movie star when he gets to have fun.
Daisy Edgar Jones has a more complicated assignment. In defiance of her best instincts, Daisy Edgar-Jones must deal with horrific indignities while making friends with a total creep. The creep isn’t foolhardy. The only way to convince him that she’s into his bizarre fetishes is to be so convincing that the audience starts to wonder if maybe, just maybe, she actually is. That’s another level of gruesome that “Fresh” throws on the tower of terrors, just in case anyone thought it wasn’t high enough.
Pawel Pogorzelski is a horror enthusiast’s favorite cinematographer. He has created morbidly absorbing, yet dynamically opposite visions for both. “Hereditary” “Midsommar.”His work can be found here “Fresh”The intimate appeal of a comedy is captured, as well as the harsh isolation of a thriller about kidnapping. Steve attempts to make the gore look as attractive as possible by using a bizarre representation of gore. There’s nothing more gross than gross-with-a-garnish.
“Fresh” raises quite a few questions it never bothers to answer, unless of course a sequel is in the cards, but its power doesn’t come from its plot. Personality is what makes the best first dates or the best midnight movies. Mimi Cave has the ability to both excite and captivate, sometimes at the same moment. She can make us laugh, and then hate ourselves for it. “Fresh” is a breakneck emotional roller coaster, and like many roller coasters, it’ll also make your stomach churn.
“Fresh”Premieres on Hulu, March 4.