Frustrated by scrolling dating apps only to end up on lame, tedious dates, Noa takes a chance by giving her number to the awkwardly charming Steve after a produce-section meet-cute at the grocery store.
- Released: 2022-03-03
- Runtime: 114 minutes
- Genre: Horror, Romance, Thrillers
- Stars: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan, Jonica T. Gibbs, Andrea Bang, Dayo Okeniyi, Charlotte Le Bon, Brett Dier, Alina Maris, William Belleau, Lachlan Quarmby, Sunghee Lapell, Arghavan Jenati, Anthony Ingram, Frances Leigh, Lance Birley, Joe Costa, Larry Hoe, Scott McGrath, Robert Corness, Arghavan Jenati
- Director: Mimi Cave
Comments
- hoernkeem - 4 January 2023
Fresh (2022, Mimi Cave) Very original and out of left field horror gem
'Fresh' is a 2022 film that debuted at Sundance in January, but was released on the Hulu streaming platform in May. It looks like that, despite the Sundance appearance, the film never did get a theatrical release, and instead went to streaming. This is a psychological horror film starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan. It is directed by Mimi Cave in her directorial debut from a screenplay by Lauryn Kahn.
Like 'Barbarian', also from 2022, which I saw prior to this, 'Fresh' benefits from watching without a lot of pre-knowledge. You know it is essentially a horror thriller walking into it so you know something is coming as the story stars very innocuously, but you don't know exactly what until the plot takes a decent turn. 'Fresh' stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Noa who is having a horrible time with online dating and the low quality of the men she is going on dates with. Enter Steve, played by Sebastian Stan, who she runs into at a supermarket, and as they get to know one another he seems like the perfect guy or at least a much better option than what she has been getting lately. At a certain point, as their dating life revs up, the entire thing pivots and you realize what is going on. Despite the gruesome subject matter, what results is one of the more interesting and fresh (forgive the pun) horror films of the year.
Without going into too much detail I will say I enjoyed this film quite a bit. It is a rare horror film with decent intelligence that keeps upping the stakes. It plays with some preconceived notions regarding how horror films should work, and how people in this day and age would protect themselves in various social situations. It is more of a psychological horror film but does have its fair share of gore and violence. The performances are all quite good. There is really not much to criticize here, and when all is said and done this winds up being a fun horror movie that executes its plot to near perfection and really fires on all cylinders within the framework of its narrative. It is definitely a hidden gem as it was thrown on Hulu and did not get very much hype, but it is worth seeking out especially for fans of horror.
Eric's Grade: B+
