Fresh

Film | Cert: 18| ★★★★✩

Reviewed by Linda Marric  

Modern dating can often feel like a conveyor belt of bad matches, tedious exchanges and monumental letdowns. In Fresh, director Mimi Cave delivers a brilliantly mischievous darkly comic commentary on the anxieties of young women looking for love in the 21st century.  Produced by American screenwriter, director and comedian Adam McKay (The Big Short, Don’t Look Up), Fresh features exquisite turns from Normal People star Daisy Edgar-Jones and Marvel star Sebastian Stan (recently in Pam & Tommy), in this story of a young woman who discovers her new boyfriend has a rather alarming secret.

Noa (Edgar-Jones) has had just about enough of matching with all the wrong men on her dating apps. She decides she is done with trying to find Mr Right and settles for a life of singlehood. But Noa’s faith in men is restored after a chance meeting with the handsome, funny and seemingly normal Steve (Stan). 

After a few weeks of dating, he suggests a short romantic break. It’s then things turn sinister. Noa is  drugged by her new beau, wakes to find she is being held captive and is further distressed when she learns of Steve’s real motivations. Meanwhile, Noa’s best friend Molly (Jojo T. Gibbs) starts to suspect foul play. 

Fuelled by rumours of audience members falling faint at advance screenings, Fresh has become one of this year’s most hotly awaited releases for horror fans. There are certainly some shocking goings-on, but the makers do a great job of steering clear of gratuitous kills and hackneyed jump-scares. Instead, Cave delivers a brilliantly self-aware, funny and devilishly playful tale.  

While there are obvious similarities with Get Out (Jordan Peele’s award winning post-race horror comedy from 2017) in the film’s jaw-dropping premise, Fresh stands on its own two feet with a wickedly smart screenplay and electrifying performances from Edgar-Jones and Stan. It may be not be for the faint-hearted, but I had a lot of fun.