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Fresh – Movie Review

Fresh

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Hello horror fans, it’s me, Slick Dungeon. I’m back to review another movie for you. This time I watched Fresh starring Sebastian Stan and Daisy Edgar-Jones which is now streaming on Hulu.

Before I launch into the review I need to warn you about spoilers. I can’t really review this without giving away a huge moment in the movie so if you are bothered by spoilers please watch first and then come back here to read the review.

Okay, one last warning because I am definitely going to spoil some plot points here.

Still with me? Okay good. Have you watched The Tinder Swindler and decided dating apps are just not your thing because, well, look at what happened there? Fresh shows us why it’s a terrible idea to meet someone in real life so I think we can all just agree dating sucks.

Noa (played by Daisy Edgar-Jones) is tired of dating and sick of dating apps. Along comes Steve (played by Sebastian Stan) who seems kind of awkward but maybe an alright guy. And the best part is Noa meets him in the grocery store where you can find real, actual people without swiping left. She ends up going on a date with him and things seem to be going well.

It’s moving a bit fast but she brings him to her apartment where they hook up. He’s even still there in the morning and seems nice enough. Noa tells her friend Molly about it and the friend is rightly concerned. Steve also doesn’t seem to have any social media presence which might be a little sketchy. Regardless, Noa likes him enough to agree to go on a weekend trip with him to a “surprise location.” Against her better judgement she goes.

She arrives at Steve’s house where they are supposed to stay before going on their trip. They have a little chat and a nice drink and here’s where I am about to drop a huge spoiler so seriously last chance to watch first.

Steve drugs Noa and she wakes up chained to the corner of a room. Steve calmly explains to Noa that he’s going to keep her alive as long as he can but he’s going to sell her meat, slowly, to people who are willing to pay for it.

Turns out Steve is the Blue Apron of cannibals. He traps women, carves them up small pieces at a time, and sends the human meat out in boxes filled with items and trinkets that belong to the women he has trapped.

I’m not going to spoil a lot more of the movie here but let’s just say the rest of the movie is what you might expect. Noa tries to figure out how to get out of the situation and Steve is a psychotic violent person who tries to stop her.

Sebastian Stan puts in a great performance as Steve finding just the right edge of being able to present himself as a nice guy but with menace just under the surface. But Daisy Edgar-Jones puts in a truly masterful turn as Noa who doesn’t just spend her time in hysterics over her situation but is able to be clever throughout (other than impulsively agreeing to go on a trip with a near stranger)

Clearly this movie has a bit of blood and gore in it but I do have a pro tip here. Whatever you do, absolutely do not, watch this movie while you are eating dinner. Trust me.

The ending is believable and interesting and overall the film really works. The only thing that kind of bothered me here was that I don’t think the market for what Steve was doing would be there and as sustainable as the film implies.

But the film does make a pretty strong statement about the state of dating in this era.

If you like movies with a lot of suspense and a bit of gore that tend to be more psychologically disturbing than anything this one is definitely worth a watch.

Horrifically yours,

Slick Dungeon

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We Need to Do Something – Movie Review

We Need to Do Something 2021

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Hey internet, it’s me, Slick Dungeon. I’m back to review another horror movie. This one is streaming on Hulu right now and is called We Need to Do Something. If you haven’t watched it just a warning there will be some spoilers below.

We Need to Do Something is one of those horror films that basically takes place in a single location. A family of four is trapped in their bathroom after a tornado hits. They’ll need to survive until help can come from the outside but what is out there may be worse than what they are going through.

If you’re not a fan of gore this one will probably not land well with you. However, for all the gore shown in this film, it’s the things not shown on screen that are the most frightening. Like almost all of these types of movies, several characters are keeping secrets of one kind or another and at least one of them knows a lot more about what is going on than anyone else.

About a third of the way into the film there is a definite surprise and things take a decidedly horrific turn.

I was honestly very close to giving this one four stars because the acting here is phenomenal. Even when the incredible is happening, all the actors are perfectly believable. And a lot of the horror is subtle or hinted at which I always like. But for me, the reveal of what was actually happening was a bit underwhelming and not quite believable enough for me to go along with it.

I still think it’s really worth watching and there are absolutely moments that are likely to scare any audience. I found myself having a good time watching it, even with the few flaws it has. I imagine if others do buy into the premise more than I do they would put this higher on their list of good horror films.

If you’re in need of a good scare with quite a lot of psychological terror in the film, this one is definitely worth watching. I would sort of like to see this re-done but with a slightly different character point of view and I think it might be an even more terrifying film.

Have you seen this one? If so, how do you think it compares to other isolation/confinement horror films? Let me know in the comments!

Horrifically yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Censor – Movie Review

Censor 2021 Film

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Hey out there internet, it’s me Slick Dungeon back to review another movie for you. I found this little horror gem on Hulu called Censor. I’m going to give mild spoilers below so be forewarned.

In the 1980’s in Brittain there was what was called the “Video Nasty” controversy. Basically, there were a lot of low budget, mostly horror, films that were put on videotape but never went through the British version of what our MPAA would be. There was a loophole because video is not the same as film. This caused some controversy because this meant it was possible for kids to get their hands on some pretty gory stuff. And there were religious organizations who thought even watching this stuff could lead to real world violence.

I only mention all of this because it’s necessary to know a little bit about that in order to fully enjoy Censor. In the movie, Enid Baines is working at the British Board of Film Classification where they are going through a backlog of these videos. When Enid was little her younger sister disappeared and Enid was there when it happened. She doesn’t have a full memory of exactly what happened but Enid believes her sister could still be alive. One day while at work she sees a video with an actress that she is convinced is her sister.

I can’t go much further into the plot from there without spoiling things so I’m going to stop there with the description. However, I can say the film is deeply psychological and keeps you guessing. I imagine there will be a segment of viewers who don’t appreciate the ending but in my opinion it was cleverly done. There is some gore in this movie, some of which looks rather fake, and some of which looks much better. If you are averse to gore this would be one to skip. But if you can handle that sort of thing this is a great little film to watch. It’s well acted and has interesting twists to it.

If you’re looking for something with a bit of blood but that is also smart, definitely check this one out.

Cleverly yours,

Slick Dungeon