Fresh (2022)

               Directed by: Mimi Cave

Starring: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan, Jojo T. Gibbs, Andrea Bang, Dayo Okeniyi and Charlotte Le Bon

Genre: Horror / Thriller / Dark Comedy / Horror Comedy

Rated: R

Noa is fed up with the dating scene. Online dating apps seem to only result in lack luster text conversations, unsolicited dick pics, or dates with losers. Just as she’s decided to step back from dating, she meets Steve in the produce section at the grocery store. Steve is charming, funny and attractive, and Noa ends up giving him her number. What follows is an adorable whirlwind romance, but things aren’t all that they seem, and Steve is harboring some dark secrets. When Noa learns the truth, she must fight to survive.

I didn’t know what to expect going into this movie last night. Initially I thought it might be interesting and put it on while folding my laundry, only to find myself enjoying the hell out of it. I was fully invested from beginning to end. It has everything I like in horror – dark humor, strong heroine, interesting villain, some disturbing themes, some gore, and social commentary done right. The fact that it was written and directed by women, a rarity in the genre, is a bonus.

The performances from the leads, Daisy Edgar-Jones (Noa) and Sebastian Stan (Steve), really sell this film. These two have amazing chemistry despite the sixteen year age difference between the actors. You don’t even question why these two would be together, they just seem to click. There’s an obvious attraction, but they also share the same sense of humor, appear to have similar backgrounds, and he seems to bring out her more adventurous side. This chemistry continues throughout, despite the dark turn in their relationship, and I think that is what truly carries the film. Without it, I don’t believe the final quarter of the film would have held up, as the ending depended on it.

Just look at these two!

These performances extend beyond when they are together, of course. Both stand just as well on their own. Edgar-Jones brings Noa to life, despite the fact that we know little about the character – not her interests, not her job, etc. We mostly see her in how she relates to those around her, whether it’s a lousy date, her encounters with Steve, or her interactions with other women, like her best friend, Mollie, or Penny, a fellow victim of Steve. Her moments alone are rarely depicted, but when they are she easily displays what the character is thinking without having to say anything at all. Stan is ridiculously charming as Steve, even after his true nature is revealed – to the point where I feel uncomfortable with the fact that I still like him. (Damn it, I don’t want to be attracted to this sick individual! Stop doing things that would be hot or romantic in a consensual setting.)

Another great performance is given by Jojo T. Gibbs as Mollie. I love the friendship between her and Noa because it is depicted as a normal, real life friendship. These two love and support one another. They laugh and joke together, discuss the dating scene, act as a safety when the other goes on a date with a practical stranger, and protect each other. Mollie is a devoted and loyal friend who has Noa’s back no matter what, and by the end of the film, Noa proves she is the same for Mollie. These two are a team. Separately they’re strong individuals, but together they’re unstoppable. 

My Favorite Spoiler Free Mollie and Noa Interactions:

Noa: "I don't know how you do it, Mollie."
Mollie: "Do what?"
Noa: "Dating people. And I always end up alone. Which, by the way, I am very okay with."
Mollie: "No. No. What? You do not need a man, okay? Or anybody, for that matter. It's just the way we've been raised since fucking Disney movies."
Noa: "Yeah. Fuck Ariel."
Mollie: "Fuck her. Stupid bitch left the whole sea for a man. Come on, now. Like, fuck Beauty."
Noa: "Yeah, fuck the Beast. I am the beast."
Mollie: "You are the Beast!" 

 

Mollie: (talking about Steve and acting every bit like my sister-in-law) "What's his Instagram? I want to stalk a little bit."
Noa: "Oh, he doesn't have one."
Mollie: "Say what? What do you mean? Oh no. See, that's shady. I'm sorry. Red Flag." 
Noa: "Okay. Whatever. Stop raining on my sex parade."  

 

Noa: "I'm going away with Steve for the weekend."
Mollie: "What? Where?"
Noa: "It's a surprise."
Mollie: "Hold on, Noa. Uh-uh. A surprise? I don't like that."
Noa: "I'm just going to go for it. You said, 'fuck it,' remember?"
Mollie: "Girl, you're all dickmatized, and I haven't even seen this dude."

When Noa goes missing, Mollie refuses to give up looking for her, as any true friend would, and will not be appeased by the “she’s just off with her new boyfriend,” story. Good, so many films have “friends” ignore someone’s disappearance because of some BS story and nothing good ever comes from that.

Mollie knows something is not right. 

I’ve seen a few complaints about the character of Penny, a fellow captive of Steve that Noa befriends as they converse through the vents / walls between their cells. The criticism of her stems from the fact that she comes off kind of bubbly and good humored despite the trauma she’s endured. I disagree that this is a drawback to her character. I feel her sense of humor is a coping mechanism, so she doesn’t lose her mind due to the circumstances. Another unseen character named Melissa has this misfortune, and Penny has been there long enough to hear Melissa descend into madness. Her humor and spirit also help Noa maintain a clear head and strategize. I feel Penny plays an important role and don’t think Andrea Bang’s performance was too bubbly – there are definitely times when it’s obvious the character is struggling but manages to bring herself out of it with some humor in order to uplift and advise Noa. I liked Penny a lot, and didn’t feel she was a throwaway character as I’ve seen other reviewers claim. Without her, I’m not sure Noa would have the strength she does.

My Favorite Spoiler Free Noa and Penny Interactions:

Noa: "I want to hurt him, Penny."
Penny: "It's all I think about."
Noa: "I can't believe I slept with him."
Penny: "Wait, you fucked him? I never did. I don't think any of the others did either. I am not slut-shaming you, by the way. I'd say it's a compliment."
Noa: "I'm so fucking stupid."
Penny: "No, you're not. It's not your fault, Noa. It's always theirs." 

 

Penny: "I'm done, Noa."
Noa: "No, you're not."
Penny: "I don't even know who I am anymore. I hope he fucking chokes. And then he gets a fucking tapeworm and it just eats him from the inside, slowly. And that all his weirdo friends shit and puke out of their eyes until they all fucking die." 
Noa: "You're such a sweetheart, Penny. Just stay strong, okay?"

 

Penny: "You know, the other night, I was thinking of how nice it's been to talk to you. But then I was like, what if you're not real and I'm just going crazy? Like Melissa. But I feel like if I had an imaginary friend I wouldn't name her Noa. It would be like Sean Connery."
Noa: "I wish I could see you."
Penny: "Me too."

I do, however, agree with the criticisms that some characters are underutilized. Paul, the bartender, seems nice enough and has a good sense of humor, but I feel could have been used better as Mollie’s backup in her search for Noa. While he has a funny moment toward the end where he realizes he’s in a horror movie situation, remembers how well black characters tend to fare in such films and gets the hell out of dodge, it renders the scenes leading him to this one pointless. With this leading nowhere, all the scenes with him outside of the bar could have been cut and nothing would have been lost.

The character of Ann also didn’t seem to serve much purpose other than to represent Steve’s other life as well as women who hurt other women to benefit themselves. There are interesting aspects about her that I wanted to explore but ultimately were never developed upon or explained. Her entire character could have been removed from the film and nothing would have really been lost.

The story progression and style is interesting. The film begins like a romantic comedy with the title card and opening credits not showing up until thirty-three minutes into the film, right as the plot begins to take a dark turn. There are hints that something isn’t quite right with Steve, but it’s easy to see how a woman on a date with him may not pick up on them. He uses charm and humor to cover what would possibly be red flags on someone else. Still, there’s enough that the viewer isn’t really surprised when the tone shifts from light rom-com to dark comedic horror. The film eases you into the darkness, slowly getting more uncomfortable and disturbing, but not so slowly that the viewer loses interest. The pacing is fairly spot-on and kept my attention for the entire hour and fifty-four minute run-time.

The violence and gore are fairly minimal, but no less uncomfortable when depicted. Much of the horror is psychological – the isolation, the knowledge of exactly what is going to happen to you, literally being awake paralyzed by an epidural while a part of your body is cut off (not shown, the viewer just has a close up of the victim’s terrified face as it’s happening, and that is somehow almost worse), knowing you’re being fed something heinous and having to eat it anyway. The eating scenes made me particularly uncomfortable. In the hands of someone else, I fear this would have been little more than an exploitative gore fest a-la the torture porn of the early to mid 2000s. Here it is tastefully done with lasting impact, no excessive gore or nudity needed. 

The final act leading up to the ending is fairly predictable but still manages to sneak in a few surprises. Noa’s strategy for attempting escape is pretty obvious to everyone except Steve but I was cheering her on none-the-less. She has more strength than I would in her shoes and forces herself to do what she has to in an effort to survive.

This is a feminist horror film done right. Where many others have failed (looking at you, Black Christmas [2019]) this one thrives. Firstly, the female characters seem like real people, not caricatures and stereotypes. The female friendships are strong and founded upon building each other up. There is no belittling, judgment or slut-shaming from the regular characters (with the exception of Ariel from the above quote) and very minimal derogatory language from the villain(s). This is a film about women leaning on each other to fight against oppression and survive. It’s filmed from the female gaze with no sexualizing of the characters, even during the sex scenes or when there is brief nudity. It explores many fears women have of the dating scene and the ridiculous crap we have to put up with before we find someone we think is worthwhile. (I’m so glad I’m married and out of the dating game.)

This is a fun feminist horror comedy that comments on the ugly side of dating and the importance to strong female friendships. It will charm you with the romance then make you uncomfortable with the horror, despite not being very graphic or gory. It is flawed. I felt some scenes and characters could have been cut and the plot was fairly predictable, but it was still an entertaining ride. This is definitely worth the watch, and I have a feeling I will be returning to it multiple times.

7.5/10