Welcome to Knockout Horror Today we are looking at Brandon Cronenberg’s sexually charged Sci-Fi horror: Infinity Pool. This proved to be a popular movie that has, also, proven to be somewhat divisive with audiences. It absolutely deserves its place on any horror movie review site, though, so we are going to take a look. Continuing the legacy of his father David, Brandon Cronenberg attempts to build on the huge success of Possessor. Infinity Pool is about as weird and depraved as you may expect. Let’s get to the review.
Science Fiction Horror
Infinity Pool follows couple James and Em Foster. James is a struggling novelist, looking for inspiration, the pair head off on holiday. While there, they meet a young woman called Gabi. Gabi claims to be a fan of James’ writing. Inviting the couple to accompany her to dinner, the group end up spending the day together at the beach. While there, they become intoxicated. Deciding to drive home regardless of their drunken state. The group’s lives are turned around when James hits an unsuspecting villager with the car.
The first thing that is, perhaps, necessary to point out about Infinity Pool is its strangeness. This isn’t a movie for everyone,despite the positive critical reception it has received. Brandon Cronenberg falls victim to many of the over indulgences of his father. A propensity for abstract camera angles, gratuitous sexualisation and graphic violence all stand as themes that will split viewers right down the middle.
Some will love just how bizarre and ridiculous these movies feel. Others will find them a dull, over stylised, over hyped, chore, drowning in the excesses of their mad scientist creator. However you feel about David or Brandon Cronenberg’s movies, Infinity Pool will not change your mind. I stand somewhere in the middle. Able to appreciate the pros while acknowledging the cons. Infinity Pool is a movie I really enjoyed but I can, absolutely, see how it will simply not appeal to some.
Graphic, Disturbing Themes
Feeling like a fairly typical horror to start with. Infinity Pool quickly injects the story with science fiction based themes. Themes that, despite their ridiculous nature, seem rooted in the here and now. Whereas Cronenberg’s earlier movie, Antiviral, presented its science fiction themes in a sanitised, bright white, manner, complete with a believable near future look. Infinity Pool feels dirty and a little bit gritty. The luxury holiday resort the group are spending time at is stunning but it hides a corrupt and impoverished country replete with the societal issues that come along with that and a draconian system of law.
Acting as something of a social commentary on the contrast between the rich and the poor. This is a movie keen to explore the way the latter suffers for the excesses of the former. Infinity Pool has some important things to say but doesn’t quite know how to say them. Instead choosing to drag the viewer into a world of hyper sexualisation, extreme corruption and twisted views of morality. It’s fairly compelling stuff, though. Cronenberg has inherited many of his father’s traits including the ability to keep the viewer watching, despite wanting to turn away.
Violent and Hyper Sexual
Infinity Pool is a movie that is graphic in a number of different ways. Taking the very real eccentricates of the rich and upper class, placing them under a microscope and inflating them to farcical levels. It bombards the viewer with a consistently renewed cycle of violence and gore, all set to a backdrop of drug and alcohol use and layered with excessive bodily functions and sex. Nothing is off limits here. Cronenberg goes out of his way to unsettle the viewer in any way he can.
Scenes of deliberate and drawn out violence stand out for the manner in which they are depicted. Graphic and psychedelic sex scenes aim to provoke discomfort in the viewer. Featuring full frontal male and female nudity frequently, Cronenberg prods at the more reserved, desperate for a response. It’s a commendable use of these elements. Often exploited for titillation, they are used here to disturb, something which said scenes frequently accomplish.
The question is, do these themes provoke the intended response? To a degree, yes they do. But it has to be said that this is not horror in the traditional sense. Scenes of violence feel very deliberately forced. They linger; keen to indulge in the horror of it all, as do the sex scenes and moments of uncomfortable nudity. This is a movie that wants the viewer to feel off base and, to do that, it sacrifices a cohesive and well structured plot.
Infinity Pool forgoes attempts to get into your head with psychological torment like Hannibal Lecter. Instead opting to tuck its dick in between its legs like Buffalo Bill before standing there naked and hoping for a response. It wants to shock you and does so in any way it can. For much of its length, if feels rather needless and lacking in purpose. Still, the themes and bizarre imagery, somehow, keep you watching.
Well Acted, Underdeveloped Characters
Infinity Pool is well supported by fantastic performances of rather underdeveloped character. Alexander Skarsgård is great as writer James Foster. Feeling like a genuine and, at times, vulnerable character. As his situation sinks deeper and deeper down into the pit of depravity, Skarsgård brings to life the very real decline of the character. Cleopatra Coleman, as Em, is great, managing to feel like the only normal person in the entire movie and acting as a character insert for the viewer.
The standout performance here, however, is Mia Goth as Gabi. Playing the role with her usual confidence. As the movie enters its final stanza, she really comes to life, putting on one of the most fun and memorable horror performances in quite awhile. She is proving to be something of a horror sensation as of late. Acting, throughout, is fantastic. Cronenberg, seemingly, has his dad’s ability to relate these strange characters. Helping get the most out of his actor’s performances.
Cinematography is excellent. Cronenberg’s style is sure to divide. Psychedelic shots and a focus on the insignificant will not be for everyone. Slightly abstract camera angles abound. The gorgeous setting of Croatia is minimised in the lens of the camera. Cronenberg, instead, choosing to focus on the grittier sides of the country. This is a great looking picture, though, feeling unique while, at the same time, being rather traditional as if it has been dragged, kicking and screaming, back from the 70s.
I imagine some will really dislike how lacking the story is here. The characters are vapid and two dimensional by design. They are rich people looking for rich people thrills, they don’t have personality. But the story really loses its way towards the end and doesn’t ever find it back. It becomes fairly clear that the only direction the film is going is towards mayhem and there won’t be anything else of note at the end of the road. Still, it is hard to deny how much fun that destination is and there is plenty of interesting scenery to look at on the way.
Should You Watch Infinity Pool?
Infinity Pool is a an interesting movie that feels more like a sequence of events than a story. Indulging in its themes of sex, violence and debauchery, it is every bit the type of film you might expect from a person bearing the Cronenberg name. Unsettling and discomforting in is presentation of the excesses of the rich. Infinity Pool can be uncomfortable viewing at the best of times. Both incredibly effective and utterly memorable. Mia Goth’s brilliant performance stands out. Infinity Pool is, absolutely, worth a watch but it won’t appeal to all horror fans.