Ever since Fresh premiered at Sundance earlier this year, it was one of those movies that everyone came out murmuring about how no one should say a thing about it until after its released. Usually the kind of hush-hush, spoiler avoidance typically reserved for big studio movies. Now, having seen it, I can definitely see why. It is a film that works most effectively if you go into it not knowing anything about it. Though, I don’t think knowing the subject matter alone (which seems to be the big thing they were hiding about this) is so out there that it would ruin the experience. If you want to remain spoiler-free, just know that I liked it, didn’t love it, but it’s worth checking out.
Anyway, Fresh follows a young woman named Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones). She’s not having the best luck on the dating scene, an early scene shows one night out going pretty poorly. However, her luck seems to chance when she randomly encounters Steve (Sebastian Stan) during a late night grocery run. He’s charming, funny, and it’s Sebastian Stan, so he’s by no means hard on the eyes. They end up going out, and it seems to be going great.
Things end up moving quick as she soon agrees to go out with Steve on a trip, which Noa’s best friend, Mollie (Jonica T. Gibbs), finds odd. The couple goes back to Steve’s place so that they can head out first thing in the morning to beat the traffic. But it seems like Steve has other plans. Noa is drugged, and wakes up chained. It turns out, Steve works for a secretive group of people who purchase human meat, which he gets from women that he invites to his home where they are kept alive for as long as possible, with pieces slowly being cut from them and shipped away.
Yeah, it’s a cannibal movie, but in a roundabout sort of way. Writer, Lauryn Kahn, and director, Mimi Cave, are using the form of a cannibal picture to explore ideas of female resilience, the way some women put their own self-interests first at the expense of other women, and of course, the whole conceit being a very literal approach to how men can only see women as a piece of meat. While it isn’t subtle commentary, it isn’t necessarily heavy-handed in its approach either, mostly due to Cave’s commitment to propulsive direction and Kahn’s commitment to keeping the storytelling as lean (sorry) as possible, none of the hour and fifty-some minute runtime feels wasted.
However, like I said, I didn’t love the movie. As much as it is told economically, it doesn’t really allow moments to linger in ways that enhance character, leaning more on the mechanics of the plot, from Noa’s struggle to figure a way out of her situation to Mollie’s investigation of her friend’s disappearance. It does end up coming at the expense of having a more thoughtfully developed story where its themes go beyond the superficial notes. Though, it does help that the film keeps a mostly light touch to things, bringing a dark sense of humor to the proceedings. I do wish it could be funnier.
Most of the humor comes out of Stan’s performance, which is enjoyably over-the-top. The contrast between his amusing antics and the despicable and grotesque acts that he commits makes for a wild viewing experience, and he’s clearly having the most fun out of anyone else in the cast. Daisy Edgar-Jones, who I am not very familiar with, does good work as the lead, playing more straight with the material than Stan, but purposefully so. I was initially worried that Gibbs would be related to the stereotypical “black best friend” trope, but she ends up having a more meaty (sorry) role with more involvement in the plot than I anticipated.
The other thing that holds Fresh back for me a bit is the fact that I don’t think it goes as far as it could with its ideas. Granted, by American standards, this is pretty extreme stuff, but for anyone who has a cinematic palate (sorry) beyond what we offer here, a lot of what we see in this film is pretty tame. As a horror picture, it lacks bite (sorry). There isn’t much gore, and our lead, despite going through some rough stuff, never seems to be that affected by it. It approaches the line of getting into some truly mean and gnarly territory, but then it holds back. It’s all a bit too tasteful (sorry). It never goes fully unhinged, which is a shame because I think it’s clear that Cave has the instincts for it. Still, I do think it’s a film worth seeking out. It’s got plenty of things to appreciate from some of the bold choices that do work (opening credits half an hour in!!!) to Sebastian Stan’s performance, and sprinkles of great moments and line deliveries. I just wish it all added up to something more filling (sorry, couldn’t resist).
Fresh is currently streaming exclusively on Hulu.