Our review of ‘FRESH’ was first published as part of our Sundance Film Festival 2022 coverage.
Where to watch: Now streaming on Hulu.
Contemporary horror stories that involve dating will never not interest me. I played that game once before. The mental and physical toll it took to be actively “single and ready to mingle” was like competing in a never-ending relay race of emotional uncertainties. The apps were a minefield of Chads, Brads, and single dads, and with each swipe, my optimism for a genuine connection dwindled. But, I guess I’ve never been chained, tortured, and slowly chipped away at so that cannibals could feast on my flesh–as happens new film FRESH. So I guess, it could’ve been worse.
Debuting in the Midnight category at the Sundance Film Festival, FRESH is a campy thriller that will make any young woman think twice about entrusting a sexy stranger with their life. Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is a frustrated twenty-something whose dating life is on life support. After a truly unbelievable awkward date, she is hesitant to fall for the charms of Steve (Sebastian Stan), the handsome doctor she serendipitously meets at the local grocery store.
Steve makes Noa feel special, important, beautiful, and his suave moves apparently cause Noa to lose any sense of caution as she agrees to take an extended trip out of town to a “surprise ” location with this man who she’s only known for a few days.
Of course, things don’t go well for Noa, who slowly realizes that the drink Steve’s made her is making her slowly lose consciousness. In the classic “wolf in sheep’s clothing” reveal, Noa awakens, chained. Steve admits that he kidnaps and dismembers young women to sell their body meat on the black market. And Noa is for sale next.
If you’re one who keeps up with Hollywood gossip, you might have immediately thought “Armie Hammer!” (which is where my mind went too). FRESH benefits from this real-life correlation, making the absurd seem, actually, not so farfetched (which is the real horror here!). Sebastian Stan is captivating to watch on screen as the charming narcissist.
It’s easy to see how he was able to win Noa over so quickly with his sultry stare and quick comfortability. Daisy Edgar-Jones holds it down as our vulnerable turned badass heroine. So much of her performance is dependent on her body language, and if awards were given for best non-verbal performance, Edgar-Jones would take the gold.
Director Mimi Cave built up quite the reputation as someone to watch in the music video space, working with artists like Sleigh Bells and Sylvan Esso. Using her experience of marrying sound to picture, Cave relies heavily on chart-toppers and deep cuts to help guide the players throughout the film, the music almost acting like a secondary character. Furthering the film’s ominous disposition is the sweepingly tense score by composer Alex Somers.
While it didn’t necessarily blow me away, FRESH is a satiating watch if you’re looking to whet your horror palate.
114 minutes.
