It’s only February, but Infinity Pool is already a key contender for craziest horror of 2023. Empire asks director Brandon Cronenberg why he’s making such insane cinema.
Read an excerpt from our exclusive overflowing pool article from our April 2023 issue below, or read the full article here.
Faces falling out of skulls. A syringe containing a deadly virus that pierces the skin. A man vomiting blood broadcast live around the world. Few filmmakers have broken into the big screen with creations as haunting and moving as Brandon Cronenberg.
The first mental challenge for audiences came in the form of his body horror debut. antiviral (2012), in which celebrity illnesses are sold to rabid fans. In his second film, 2020 incumbent, a murderer takes control of other people’s bodies through brain implants before encouraging suicide. But the horror, lust and creepy feeling you get from watching them has nothing to do with the new nightmarish sci-fi. overflowing pool.
On vacation in a luxury hotel, author James Foster (Alexander Skarsgård) and his partner Em (Cleopatra Coleman) find themselves embroiled in a mess of violence and hedonism fueled (and sometimes directed) by the seductive Gabi (Mia Goth). With pus-infected body parts, ritualistic executions, and pristine clones, he’s everything (and more) you’d expect from a son of Blood Baron David Cronenberg. However, it’s not blood for its own sake. “If you just try to throw people off balance with graphic images, it tends to fail,” says the 43-year-old writer-director. “It can be superficial if it’s not integrated into the narrative in some way. There is a deliberate contrast in this film between the glitz of the resort and the civility of this family situation, and then this kind of animal sex and violence beneath the surface.
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Source: EmpireOnline
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
