Fresh review – a delightfully disturbing thriller
Loveable Marvel star Sebastian Stan has been trying some darker roles recently, playing shady characters in The Devil All The Time and The 355, as well as raucous rocker Tommy Lee in Disney+ series Pam & Tommy. However, nothing the actor has done so far will touch the grizzly insanity of his new role, horror-thriller Fresh.
Daisy Edgar-Jones (TV’s Normal People) plays Noa, a young woman struggling to navigate the many disappointments of modern dating. Having grown exasperated by the creeps she matches with online, she unexpectedly meets Steve (Stan) at a supermarket. Charmed by him, the pair start dating and become serious quickly. Against the advice of her friend Mollie (Jonica T. Gibbs), Noa agrees to go on a weekend trip with Steve, only to discover to her horror that he is a butcher of human meat who has lured her into a trap.
If you’re thinking that last sentence took a rather dramatic turn, it’s very much in keeping with the shocking nature of the movie. Bringing to mind darkly comic tales like Killer Joe, it’s a story that is funny, repulsive, and hard to forget. Mimi Cave’s background in music videos is evident, as the first-time director weaves music and dance into scenes to make certain moments more palatable. In particular, a delightful kitchen scene where Stan boogies while butchering a leg sums up the irreverent nature of the horror.
Also, key is the strength of the casting. Edgar-Jones is relatable as an everywoman finding the dating scene difficult, and not asking for much beyond a man who is decent. Her choices feel more relatable than the Final Girl – the trope of the last woman alive to confront the killer in a horror movie – cliché she might have been, and makes for a lead you’re desperate to see avoid the chop.
She’s aided by Gibbs’ Mollie, one of the finer supporting turns in recent horror as she fleshes out a subplot that keeps the narrative going when the main story relies too much on shock and gore. Offering savage criticisms of modern love and Disney princesses (“Fuck Ariel. Stupid bitch left the whole sea for a man”), it’s refreshing to see a supporting character who is on their own journey. As for Stan, the former Winter Soldier revels in the darkness when the film takes a very different direction at the thirty-minute mark.
Fresh becomes too focused on upsetting you as the film goes on, but as Get Out showed so masterfully, some insightful messages can be hidden within a fantastical storyline. A must-watch for horror fans, provided they have eaten first.
Fresh is available on Disney+ under the Star banner from 18 March