Plenty of hype and intrigue has paved the way for Brandon Cronenberg's new horror feature - "Infinity Pool", and I too, especially after 2020's "Possessor" (8/10), expected a lot. Good news is that Cronenberg family horror brand is definitely kickin', alive and well for already the 5th decade, but the bad news is that the sum of it all fell a bit below my expectations, just like Daddy Cronenberg's last year's return to horror with "Crimes of the Future".
James and Em Foster are enjoying a sunny vacation on the beaches of the fictional island of La Tolqa. The resort is separated from the rest of the country by fences and barbwire, and together with their newly made friends, the couple will venture out and find the island's terrible system of laws, perverse subcultures and surreal happenings.
Led by an absolutely terrific cast with some awesome highlights from Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgard, "Infinity Pool" serves up all the best traditions of a Cronenberg horror movie, including neo-futuristic ideas wrapped in old-school aesthetics, practical effects, psychedelic sequences, beautiful cinematography and editing, and a grim atmosphere. Sounds great, but as the runtime goes, the movie seems to explore less and less of the intriguing concepts introduced. "Infinity Pool" doesn't build up many scares, much of suspense or creepiness, but instead seems to opt for shock, disgust and moral perversion. The ground on which the film is built on is fruitful, with lots of potential, but the exploration after comes as... underwhelming and underwritten. Although I enjoyed it all the way through, in the end I couldn't shake the feeling that it could've been thematically more potent, like Brandon could've squeezed more juice out of these ideas of his.
The world of "infinity Pool" is about minimizing the border between action and consequences, stepping over boundaries that can't be built back up. The characters get desynthesized against the vile nature of humanity, and the film itself, too, although visceral and called "disturbing" by many, feels a tad bit ineffective in a similar way as violence does for the characters involved.
A beast with qualities like these is usually right up my alley, but "Infinity Pool", although leaving my eyes entertained, some pictures ingrained in memory, and a great appreciation for the performances inside my heart, also left my brain feeling like the action stopped before letting the climax happen. My rating: 7/10.
James and Em Foster are enjoying a sunny vacation on the beaches of the fictional island of La Tolqa. The resort is separated from the rest of the country by fences and barbwire, and together with their newly made friends, the couple will venture out and find the island's terrible system of laws, perverse subcultures and surreal happenings.
Led by an absolutely terrific cast with some awesome highlights from Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgard, "Infinity Pool" serves up all the best traditions of a Cronenberg horror movie, including neo-futuristic ideas wrapped in old-school aesthetics, practical effects, psychedelic sequences, beautiful cinematography and editing, and a grim atmosphere. Sounds great, but as the runtime goes, the movie seems to explore less and less of the intriguing concepts introduced. "Infinity Pool" doesn't build up many scares, much of suspense or creepiness, but instead seems to opt for shock, disgust and moral perversion. The ground on which the film is built on is fruitful, with lots of potential, but the exploration after comes as... underwhelming and underwritten. Although I enjoyed it all the way through, in the end I couldn't shake the feeling that it could've been thematically more potent, like Brandon could've squeezed more juice out of these ideas of his.
The world of "infinity Pool" is about minimizing the border between action and consequences, stepping over boundaries that can't be built back up. The characters get desynthesized against the vile nature of humanity, and the film itself, too, although visceral and called "disturbing" by many, feels a tad bit ineffective in a similar way as violence does for the characters involved.
A beast with qualities like these is usually right up my alley, but "Infinity Pool", although leaving my eyes entertained, some pictures ingrained in memory, and a great appreciation for the performances inside my heart, also left my brain feeling like the action stopped before letting the climax happen. My rating: 7/10.