INFINTY POOL (REVIEW)

Dir. Brandon Cronenberg

Reviewer. Martyn Wakefield

Brandon Cronenberg may not quite shift away from his father in terms of create appeal but what he delivers is a nastier and rawer renditions of tropes and themes David has touched on. Like ANTIVIRAL and POSSESSOR, the tool and plot device is merely a catalyst for the human interactions to exist. Rather than putting the science of cloning as the big plot device instead we're treated to a very nasty friendship that escalates into a Purge like frenzy.

Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgard are both dislikeable yet brilliantly curated as their descent and motives become apparent and as the film delves deeper into the psyche of the dark side of humanity and wealth, so too does it reflect on the similarities it has on poverty, albeit motives run a much different scale.

Drugs, cloning, orgies and a holiday to remember, INFINITY POOL has it all but it's not quite as deep or fresh to inflict too deep a cut. The nastiness is predictable, the violence as vicious and gut wrenching as you'd expect but it's linear tale of human connection and bad influence isn't new and it means we have a great ensemble cast who are left mostly emotionless throughout.

The film's graphic drug induced scenes of violence and orgies vary from reality to hallucinogenic giving us a false sense of reality that has become a trope in the genre. There's a fine line between effective great visuals and falsehood-to-sell trailer fodder and INFINTY POOL borders on the latter with much of the films grizzlier scenes grabbed shot of in the trailer amount to nothing more than a mask, or a dream as such it lacks the punch the film suggests it has and instead steps down from being a heavyweight contender for film of the year to a mere opening bout. Like POSSESSOR, INFINTY POOL is somewhere between his father and Christopher Nolan, touching on science fiction in a way that has now become familiar, both of which are masters of their craft and we continue to see Brandon carve his own way into that niche of the two worlds between inventive macguffin and grotesque visuals, INFINITY POOL may be a step down from POSSESSOR but it's no step back and Brandon is successfully building a reputation and one that will hopefully credit in that golden ticket that INFINTY POOL should have been, but instead we wait a little longer with what is a great stepping stone to say the least.

It's cold, emotionless and ultimately unconnecting and yet through a solid construction is still a strong addition to Brandon's catalogue that hopefully at some point detours away from his influences and truly becomes himself.