The horror, the horror

 

We seem to be now in an era of the offspring of legendary directors somewhat taking over the reigns from their parents. Sofia Coppola is making way more films than her very famous Dad. Ghostbuster's helmer Ivan Reitman's son Jason has become an Indie darling.

Then there is Brandon Cronenberg. Yeah...

"Pops" Cronenberg, like him or lump him, has been one of the most interesting film-makers of the late 20th, and early 21st Century, with such early entries as Scanners, and later ones such as the amazing A History of Violence or Eastern Promises. "L'il" Cronenberg seems determined to one-up Pops, as was demonstrated with the Andrea Riseborough starrer Posessor.

Now we have Infinity Pool. Oh, man. Reviewers I quite admire have zeroed in on the Horror aspects of Infinity Pool, and it is, in parts, horrific. But it is also a real head trip, and kind of a Sci Fi piece, as much as it is a Horror film.

The plot involves a Privileged couple -- played by Alexander Skarsgård (James) and Cleopatra Coleman (Em) -- vacationing at a posh resort, in an Anonymous Mediterranean country. Where the title Infinity Pool comes in is not immediately clear, as this resort doesn't have one. An Infinity Pool, that is. What it does have is a lot of seemingly bored American and European tourists, just hankering for some blood-letting to alleviate their boredom. No problem.

Or, is it? Coming home from an against-the-rules excursion to a beach, slightly tipsy, at night, our Heroes run over a local citizen and, rather than attending to the person they continue back to the resort. Bad choice, as the next morning, the local Constabulary comes a-knockin', arrest James and take him to a strange holding cell where they make him an offer he literally can't refuse. Since said Citizen died, James is guilty of Manslaughter, and will have to be executed. But, if he pays them a lot of money and they will make a Body Double (Doppelganger?) that can be executed instead.

Sound like fun? Well, stay tuned, because what seems like a good idea at the time (who wouldn't use an ATM-generated wad o' Euros as a Get out of Jail Free Card?) turns out to be, well, not very nice. I don't know what is more horrifying (or gross), watching James' Golem (in the Jewish Doppelganger sense) be created in what can only be described as a soup of vomit, or James and Em having to watch him plead for his short life, whilst being executed.

And here is where it gets interesting. Was it the Golem who bit the dust, or James? It is not actually clear, and as the rest of the film descends into a kind of Lord of the Flies chaos of murder and body horror, this thread remains its primary through line. If it is James that is killed, then there are a bunch of Golems running around the resort, if not, what is the morality of killing a vomit soup-generated Golem?

Not that the film cares that much about morality. With skillful story-telling, some interesting camerawork and good SFX "Kid" Cronenberg produces a tale that is truly unlike anything Dad ever did. Or, for that matter, many other directors have done. Perhaps the last reel of Alex Garland's deeply disturbing Men.

Great Cinema, but not for the faint of heart.