Fresh review horror movie about online dating is creepy and well acted


Fresh’ review: horror movie about online dating is creepy and well-acted
The fact that Fresh is Mimi Cave’s directorial debut, as well as a bold indie horror that goes above genres to be character-driven and even feminist, shows that Cave has a promising career ahead of her. And so does screenwriter Lauryn Kahn. Fresh is not for the faint-hearted, and definitely not for a weak stomach. If you love body horror, this is a perfect watch for you.
‘Fresh’ review: horror movie about online dating is creepy and well-acted
Don't miss out on in-depth & unbiased stories from Northeast India. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for free.
CONTINUE READING BELOW
Genre: Horror thriller, dark comedy
Country / Language: USA / English
Duration: 1hr 54 min
Rating: A
Fresh begins with Noa (Daisy Edgar Jones) on a restaurant date with a dude she met on an app. It’s going terribly. The date keeps interrupting her, rudely addresses the waitress, and hurriedly packs the leftover food without asking Noa whether she’d like to take some home too. Then when she tells him that she doesn’t want another date, he calls her a “b**ch” and storms off. Noa regrets this date.
CONTINUE READING BELOW
With this brilliantly funny sequence, director Mimi Cave and screenwriter Lauryn Kahn prove their mettle at creating stories which are darkly comedic, relatable and extremely awkward. Fresh is marketed as a modern horror and dark comedy about the perils of online dating. But unfortunately for Noa, things are only going to go from bad to worse. This movie isn’t content with being a dark comedy about modern dating. About 20 minutes in, it shifts gears and becomes something more horrifying.
You see, things are looking up when Noa later encounters a suave fellow in a “meet-cute” way (the grocery store). His name is Steve (Sebastian Stan of Marvel’s Winter Soldier). Steve is sweet, mentions having a sister, and that he’s a doctor. Sounds great. Noa falls for him hard. The great thing about Noa’s characterization is that we never think she’s unreasonable for going on a date with this suspicious man. It was careless, but not unreasonable. We’ve spent time with her and know how lonely and stuck she feels. The dating apps just aren’t working for her. And she finally meets a guy the old fashioned way. Why shouldn’t she give him a chance?
Daisy Edgar Jones, who vastly impressed viewers with her portrayal of Marianne in Hulu’s Normal People, absolutely nails the part of the single millennial working woman. She plays Noa as someone smart, but not too smart. Someone not naive, but maybe a little desperate. Jones is so good, in fact, that we wouldn’t have minded a dark comedy about modern dating starring her.
We won’t go into details of what happens next but things take a shocking and stomach-churning turn. There’s flesh chopping involved (something hinted at by the film title and alternative poster). The fact that the real antagonists are never completely exposed, but explained to be some of the richest men in the world, makes things all the more scary, due to its realism. Conspiracy theories, such as the most powerful people in the world being part of a covert society that likes to unleash unimaginable cruelty on vulnerable members of society as a hobby, have floated around for decades. So it’s easier for the audience to immerse themselves into the plot and see it as something more convincing than a haunted house story, and therefore, more terrifying. So Fresh works well as a dark body-horror.
A large part of the movie has Jones act by herself. And she excels at the one-woman show. Stan is great too, as the charming but psychopathic Steve.
The supporting cast does wonders. We’ve got Jonica T. Gibbs as Mollie, Noa’s best friend. She’s a non-nonsense woman who was suspicious of Steve from the very beginning. Charlotte LeBon plays Steve’s suburban wife Ann with a cold precision. And finally, there’s Penny played by Andrea Bang, who does voice acting for much of the movie and gets the audience to feel chills and horror simply by her voice.
CONTINUE READING BELOW
Although the casting is fantastic, I do wish there were more scenes of Noa interacting with other captives in Steve’s cabin. And there may be some viewers who wished the movie explored the underground society more deeply. There are some pacing issues towards the end of the film before the climactic showdown. But an impressive plot point of the movie is that it doesn’t fall into tropes stereotypical to the horror genre towards the end, with its character choices.
The fact that Fresh is Mimi Cave’s directorial debut, as well as a bold indie horror that goes above genres to be character-driven and even feminist, shows that Cave has a promising career ahead of her. And so does screenwriter Lauryn Kahn. Fresh is not for the faint-hearted, and definitely not for a weak stomach. If you love body horror, this is a perfect watch for you.
‘Fresh’ is available on Disney+ Hotstar