INFINITY POOL. Starring: Alexander Skarsgard, Mia Goth, Cleopatra Coleman and Jalil Lespert. Directed by Brandon Cronenberg. Rated R18+. Restricted. (High impact horror violence, blood and gore, sex and nudity). 131 min.
Infinity Pool is enormously risky viewing for those not alerted to what they are likely to see. The film plays with moral chaos, and depicts immoral behaviour as entirely optional. The film sexualises violence, deals graphically with body horror, shows masked people hedonistically enjoying inflicting pain and death, and explicitly uses imagery designed to repulse.
Within a genre defined by these features, Brandon Cronenberg shows that he is adept in the art of terrorising. David Cronenberg cemented his skill for ‘body horror’ with the special Jury Prize awarded for his film Crash at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, and more recently he has directed A History of Violence (2005) and Crimes of the Future (2022). Discussion of contemporary body-horror movies must make reference to him. In this movie, Brandon, his son, fails to match his father, but shows an extraordinary predilection for extravagant displays that horrify and repel.
This is a film that forces one to confront what it means to be human. It fully deserves its restricted rating of R18+, and more. It is an alarming film for public cinema release in Australia.
Universal
Released 11 May 2023