Sundance Review: Brandon Cronenberg’s INFINITY POOL is an insanely twisted film that aims to shock audiences

I had a chance to catch Brandon Cronenbergthe next movie by, Infinity pool, at Sundance this week, and damn it! Making insane horror films about the body must be built into the Cronenberg family’s DNA. I liked Brandon Cronenberg’s latest movie, Owner, but this crazy and twisted next film of his was sadly not quite as good.

The movie certainly takes the audience on a hell of a ride, but it was just too much for me. Now, I love Cronenberg’s movies but this one just didn’t click for me and it seems to me that he sacrificed the story for exaggerated elements and imagery to shock the audience. I was looking forward to this movie, but I didn’t like it.

Now, I’m not saying you won’t like it! If you’re a fan of Cronenberg’s body-horror-style films, you’ll obviously want to jump in and see what all the fuss is about! You may have more fun than me. However, there are aspects of the film that I liked, such as the story idea, which was very interesting, and the over-the-top performances were fun.

The film’s story follows James and Em Foster, who go on an all-inclusive beach vacation to the fictional state of Li Tolqa to help jump-start his writer’s block. “Their lazy days are spent relegated to their expensive resort, isolated from the surrounding land. Gabby introduces herself and her partner, Al, as she is a fan of James’s latest novel and would like to spend time with the Fosters. The couples plan a secret day trip outside the compound that ends in a fatal accident through James’ fault. For a hefty price, there are loopholes to help foreign travelers convicted of crimes there, which is how James is first introduced to a twisted subculture of hedonistic tourism.

The workaround is that, for a price, an exact replica of yourself can be created and killed by the relative of the person you offended or hurt. It is after this initial setup that the story turns into crazy twists and psychedelic madness. This is also where the warnings for the film come into play, and that warning reads, “This film contains graphic violence and gore, explicit sexual content, and other subject matter that may be offensive to some viewers.”

Yes, it will definitely be offensive to some people and contains a lot of things that will be considered tasteless. I wasn’t personally offended by it, I just don’t think all that crazy stuff helped the story. In fact, I thought it was more distracting than anything else. But Cronenberg was trying to cross some lines and shock people with it. I overheard one person talking about it saying he felt he needed to take a shower after seeing it because of how “dirty” of a movie it was. It really gets under your skin.

The film is described as a “sci-fi journey through the evil deeds of foreigners abroad. Crushing violence and surreal horrors puncture this dark satire of a privileged few, centered around the depraved lead performances by Alexander Skarsgård and Mia Goth.

Alexander Skarsgard And My Goth she certainly gave memorable performances, and there are images from this film that I won’t be shaking from my head anytime soon. This movie is not for the faint of heart and I’m curious to see how fans of Cronenberg and Owner they will react to it. Just be prepared for some wicked madness.

Reactions to this film are divided. Most of the conversations I’ve had about it have been with people who either love it or hate it. I’m a little divided on this one. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t like it either. I don’t know, this was weird and I’ll probably never watch it again. All I can say is that it was an experience.