In an age where most horror movies follow a straightforward pattern and most of them have their edges slightly softened, Infinity Pool is a movie that deserves to be commended for being uncompromisingly insane. To some extent, that works in its favor, but in other areas, you wish for the movie to make more sense while being simultaneously disturbed and fascinated by so much grotesque imagery.
It stars Alexander Skarsgard as a novelist who comes to a seaside resort with his wife (Cleopatra Coleman). They meet another married couple (Mia Goth and Jalil Laspert), and they all have dinner together and then go for a drive.
While they’re out at night, the novelist accidentally hits a man with his car. He’s told that the police can’t help due to high corruption.
He’s arrested and about to face execution, but the resort has a unique justice system: If the guilty has enough money, they can create a clone, and that clone will take his place. While the wife is horrified by the idea, the novelist wants to stay as he finds the resort intriguing.
He befriends a group of locals and stays friends with the other married couple who shared a similar fate, and they inspire him to join them in committing a series of brutal crimes.
With its jolting images and macabre themes, Infinity Pool will inevitably draw comparisons to other movies such as A Clockwork Orange or Fight Club.
The movie was written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg, son of David. I can’t deny that while I admire the audacity of the plot, it also veers off into unexpected places during the middle section, which causes it to lose momentum due to the fact that certain developments just don’t make sense.
Not to mention a lot of the images push the envelope so much that they go from being insane to just downright repugnant. Some part of me thought this would be better as an NC-17 or unrated film.
Cronenberg has his dad’s gifts for crafting a script that is striking and unsettling, but he’s a bit too much of a chip off the old block. I’d like to see him fashion his own material without being so influenced by his father.
There is an enormously strange contradiction at work with Infinity Pool: It’s not a completely successful film, but it is one that will linger in both good and bad ways.
Grade: B-
(Rated R for graphic violence, disturbing material, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use, and some language.)
