‘Infinity Pool’: A Bloody Cronenberg Masterpiece

TV&Film

Jan 29

Trigger Warning: Rapid Flashing Lights, Extreme Gore, Blood, Death, Sex, Masturbation

If you’re a fan of body horror, Cronenberg is a name you’re probably familiar with. Since 1969, David Cronenberg has written and directed some of the most disturbing works of body horror to ever grace Western cinema. From his science fiction thriller Crimes of the Future to his classic remake of The Fly starring Jeff Goldblum, Cronenberg has made his audiences mortified of forces beyond their control, morphing them into things they cannot comprehend. Now, his son Brandon Cronenberg has taken up that mantle in his debut horror movie, Infinity Pool.

Infinity Pool follows novelist James Foster (Alexander Skarsgård) and his spouse Em Foster (Cleopatra Coleman) as they vacation to a resort in the country of Latoka. While there, they encounter an eccentric wealthy tourist couple, Gabi Bauer (Mia Goth) and her own spouse Alban Bauer (Jalil Lespert). As the Bauers encourage the Fosters to participate in increasingly reckless behavior, James accidentally kills a local farmer with his car. Though he and Em initially want to call the police, the Bauers convince them to flee the scene due to the country’s corrupt police. The Fosters are ultimately found and taken in by the authorities. While in custody, however, James is given an offer by Detective Thresh (Thomas Kretschmann).

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Due to the large amount of money that wealthy tourists provide to Latoka’s government, the country has a system in place in which wealthy tourists who are arrested for serious crimes can pay to have the Latoka government create an exact clone of them to be punished in their place. After processing this, James eventually takes the deal and goes through a process in which he is scanned and cloned. After he and Em see the eerily identical clone, they are then made to watch as the clone is executed in James’ place. Following this, James is approached again by the Bauers, who reveal that they and their own group of friends have gone through this process dozens of times and return to the resort every summer to carry out horrific murders.

Despite his initial hesitation, James becomes more and more comfortable with the group’s violent and sadistic crimes while also enjoying watching his clones be executed in his place. However, as the group’s activities escalate, James grows estranged from Em until she finally chooses to leave him at the resort. While James’s crimes continue to intensify along with the rest of the group, the audience wonders if they are even their original selves or the clones made of them. By the end, you begin to ponder if that even matters as the tourists use their inability to be punished as an excuse to become the worst people they can possibly be.

Like his father before him, Brandon Cronenberg uses minimalism to create an effective slow burn as James’ character gradually spirals out of control until he is entirely different from how he started. Likewise, the moments of bloody violence are sparse and, therefore, more effective whenever they happen. There are also effective bits of dark comedy that help audiences buy into the movie’s absurd premise. In the exact nature of a David Cronenberg movie, every single shot and piece of dialogue in Infinity Pool feels intentional and significant to the overall story. As James’ negative character arc reaches its expectedly disturbing conclusion, there isn’t a single wasted moment. Without adding major spoilers, Infinity Pool has extremely graphic imagery throughout; multiple sex scenes, an intense masturbation scene, and a particular orgy scene that should’ve earned the movie an X-rating.

Infinity Pool is a masterful work of body horror and a twisted tale about how even the most average, unassuming person can become a monster if allowed to abandon their inhibitions. Full of classic Cronenberg imagery, striking camerawork, deliberate symbolism, hauntingly ambient music, and excellent performances from the entire cast, Infinity Pool is a satisfying, all-inclusive experience for those looking to take another vacation to the Cronenberg body horror spa and resort.

Infinity Pool is now out in theaters.

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