Fresh: Film Review
I read so many rave reactions for Fresh coming out of Sundance so I’ve been excited about this one for a while – and I hate to say that I felt a little disappointed by it.
The film stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Noa, a young woman fed up with the online dating game. One day, it seems like her prayers have been answered when she meets Steve (Sebastian Stan) at the supermarket and they begin dating. Steve seems like Noa’s perfect kind of guy – but he’s hiding a big secret.
I would urge you to go into this knowing as little as possible, hence why this review is spoiler-free. Fresh begins like your average romance drama but then takes a sharp unexpected turn into horror/thriller territory. Even though I had a rough idea of the concept (despite my attempts to avoid it), it was still darker and more disturbing than I expected. It is a twisted and unsettling watch and I felt quite uncomfortable viewing certain scenes but there’s an undercurrent of dark humour that cuts through and stops it from feeling too heavy. It’s not the horror-comedy I’ve seen it described as by certain outlets though.
I loved the beginning; romance dramas are totally my cup of tea and I couldn’t wait to find out what Steve’s big secret was. The initial reveal is shocking and horrifying and the ending is exciting and thrilling and made me cheer – but my disappointment lies solely with the middle section. It is too long and becomes stagnant. The strong momentum it had in the beginning vanished and its grip on me slowly went along with it. Mimi Cave, in her directorial debut, brings it back for a sensational final showdown though.
I expected it to be super gruesome but it’s actually not particularly gory. I have seen way worse in other films! Fresh relies on suggestion and building a dark, hopeless atmosphere rather than seeing nasty horrors up close. There’s some violence but it’s not overly detailed. Cave also subverts certain horror/thriller tropes (which I can’t comment on for spoiler reasons) and I really appreciated that.
Steve is quite the change of pace for Stan. Seeing him play the psychopath so well was very unnerving. The character comes across as even more sinister because he’s charming and acts like his behaviour is perfectly normal – he’s not your stereotypical evil type. Edgar-Jones brings the vulnerability she exhibited in Normal People to her first lead movie role but adds a strong, determined edge – Noa is no damsel in distress. I also want to give a shout-out to Jojo T. Gibbs as Noa’s BFF Molly – everyone needs to get themselves a best friend like Molly!
Fresh is absolutely my kind of film so I’m annoyed I didn’t fully love it. I think if the middle section had been tightened up, we’d have ourselves a cracker!
On Disney+ from Friday 18th March