Fresh Review: A Stylized, Twisted, Horror Debut by Mimi Cave
Mimi Cave directs her debut feature film, Fresh with the script provided by Lauryn Kahn. Fresh begins as a fun romantic comedy with twisted undertones, and focuses on a self-assured woman named Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) burnt out on dating apps. After she meets a vibrant guy named Steve (Sebastian Stan) in person in the produce section, she finally feels like she may have met a good one. Steve has sweet charisma, is a plastic surgeon, and had similar family upbringings as Noa. They go on a few dates at a fast pace, both feeling an instant connection to each other. Noa’s best friend Mollie (Jojo T. Gibbs) feels cautious about Steve, as he has no social media, but Noa is all in. When Steve suggests bringing Noa on a weekend vacation, the real Steve starts to reveal himself. Fresh is disturbing, oddly romantic, and fun!
***Spoilers ahead!
The true intentions of Fresh kick off once the opening credits roll… 33 minutes into the film to be exact. Warped white text wraps around hazed images of walls, paintings, ceilings, and what could be pools of blood. This is when the film prepares us for what Fresh is really about. When the couple arrives at Steve’s 70s’ inspired, luxury house in the middle of nowhere, he drugs Noa and chains her in one of his cell type rooms. He calmly tells her that he’s going to slowly hack off bits of her body and sell it to the human meat market, keeping her alive as long as possible to preserve her fresh “meat”. The film is nauseating and freaky with its whip-like twist and turns. Cave and Kahn have a good grip over the tonal changes throughout the film, keeping it both thought provoking and entertaining.
Sebastian Stan and Daisy Edgar-Jones’ chemistry is truly magnetic. Steve’s unpredictability is bone-chilling, as he nonchalantly explains how he was just a normal kid who developed a desire for human meat, with no one to share it with. Coming off his electric performance as Tommy Lee Jones on Hulu’s Pam and Tommy, I feel like this may be Stan’s best performance yet. From the moment he appears onscreen, I’m captivated. Edgar-Jones acts instinctively and poignant, automatically honing the role of the final girl we root for. Noa’s character on script doesn't have a lot of bite to it, but Jones’ face and body language lifts Noa. She shows strength and soft vulnerability as she wrestles her conscience and circumstances. Their enthusiastic performances make this an unfamiliar film.
Cave started out her career directing music videos, so it makes perfect sense that her music choices for the film are fantastic. Her mix of synth, 80s’ pop, and funk help highlight the film’s stylized, almost campy, horror appeal. Fresh now contains one of my new favorite dance scenes in film (shout-out the dance scene in Ex-Machina) as the leads softly swing along to Endless Summer Nights by Richard Marx and Le jardin by French psych-rock band La Femme. I was mesmerized by their dance as it’s both delicate and creepy, leading into the film’s bloody finale.
A weak point in the film is the use of the supporting characters. Some characters during the finale happen to magically appear for the script’s convenience, and we don’t get to see Mollie as a fully fleshed out character. We’re only left knowing that she’s a Black, queer woman who is attentive to her friend. Her time in Fresh is spent either emotionally supporting Noa or helping to save her. It’s not really a step forward in representation on screen, but at least Gibbs gives a memorable performance acting as the friend everyone deserves in this situation. Paul, the bartender played by Dayo Okeniyi has no development, and seems completely unneeded in the film due to his abrupt absences to the story.
There’s a good amount of gore and violent imagery in Fresh but it truly succeeds to scare in quieter ways. It’s agonizing intensity throughout makes this a particularly unique addition to the modern horror genre. As the film works best when the audience is kept at their most uncomfortable, allowing us to create the horror in our mind as we watch the plot slowly unravel. Each minute is sheer psychological terror as we wait to see what any of the characters will do next. It’s darkly funny and self aware, touching on timely themes of the unending disappointment with dating, toxic masculinity, and the dangers women face. It also demonstrates through Steve’s wife, played by Charlotte Le Bon, that some women can be and are implicit in men’s wrongs. All concepts heightened in the most absurd ways for our enjoyment.
The grotesque details, and the way Cave and Khan present them, are fantastic. Ari Aster’s DP Pawel Pogorzelski captures both the sweet and sinful scenes, incorporating seductive close up shots to build intimacy. He likes to show off the set design and play with the space, creating haunting visualization. It’s a survival piece mixed with body horror, on the commentary that women’s bodies are seen as commodities shown through Noa and Steve’s journey. More than a month after the release, Fresh continues to stay in my mind, and I loved re-watching it after knowing everything that happened. Despite the few problems the film has on overall cohesiveness, it still feels so new. Cave and Kahn have my attention with their fresh film-making. I hope both of them tackle another horror film, but regardless, I'm excited to see what they’ll create next.
