Always Good Movies

Direction: Brandon Cronenberg
Country: USA

Brandon Cronenberg (Possessor, 2020), the son of cult filmmaker David Cronenberg, demonstrates his appetence for horror, sci-fi and unrelieved bedlam in his latest release, Infinity Pool. Alexander Skarsgård (The Diary of a Teenage Girl, 2015) and Mia Goth (Pearl, 2022) star as leads, whereas Cleopatra Coleman and Jalil Lespert join them in supporting roles.

The film, shot in Croatia and Hungary, follows a writer (Skarsgård) suffering from creative blockage and his wife (Coleman), who travel to the fictional coastal country Li Tolqa to spend some relaxing time in an all-inclusive retreat. Their plans become compromised as, after a car accident, they are pushed into a spiral of alcohol, hallucinogenic drugs, and a mix of horrific and libidinous experiences.

Sensorially stirring, the film succeeds mostly in the visual department by combining saturated colors, image overlapping and alluring tonalities to depict inexplicable oddities, both physical and mental. We follow every moment thrillingly but the film is a little too gruesome and scabrous to be likable. Infinity Pool is a dark head-spinner, which, as austere as it is incongruous, comes shrouded in pain, mystery and humiliation. Goth steals the show as a hedonistic actress who doesn’t waste time controlling her whims by slowly distilling horror and pleasure. The finale allows us to shiver and giggle at the same time.

Direction: Ti West
Country: USA

Ti West’s Pearl, a prequel to X (2022), is a psychopathy-driven horror film that almost never manages to surprise, being neither better nor worse than any other. Yet, it’s definitely a showcase for Mia Goth, who plays the unpredictable title character with absolute confidence. Constantly followed by the camera, she delivers a mix of emotional fragility and murderous fury in her portrait of a young woman with real dreams and a repellent soul. And she saves the film.

But is this really worthy of your time? Well, even if what you’ll get from this tale is the cruelty of the protagonist and learn nothing, the film is bathed in darkness and its gory scenes are a bonus for fans of the genre. Maybe a hint of black humor would have given the whole thing a more cathartic dimension.

This way, Pearl felt more confessional than disturbing, occasionally managing to give us the chills, like in a scene where Pearl chases her next prey with an axe in her hand. It’s a shame that the script doesn’t unpack more of these moments for the actress who co-wrote the script with West. The latter, never putting enough stylistic spin of his own in the mix, wastes more time with Pearl’s alligator than generating chilly vibes. The result never fully rises above the pack, but it’s still passable.