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* [[Daisy Edgar-Jones]] as Noa
* [[Daisy Edgar-Jones]] as Noa
* [[Sebastian Stan]] as Steve
* [[Sebastian Stan]] as Steve / Brendan
* [[Jonica T. Gibbs]] as Mollie
* [[Jonica T. Gibbs]] as Mollie
* [[Charlotte Le Bon]] as Ann
* [[Charlotte Le Bon]] as Ann

Revision as of 13:38, 25 April 2022

Fresh
Promotional release poster
Directed byMimi Cave
Written byLauryn Kahn
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPawel Pogorzelski
Edited byMartin Pensa
Music byAlex Somers
Production
companies
Distributed bySearchlight Pictures
Release dates
  • January 20, 2022 (2022-01-20) (Sundance)
  • March 4, 2022 (2022-03-04) (United States)
Running time
114 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15–20 million[1]

Fresh is a 2022 American comedy thriller film directed by Mimi Cave, in her directorial debut, from a screenplay by Lauryn Kahn. It stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan. The film is a co-production between Legendary Pictures and Hyperobject Industries; Adam McKay produced the film alongside Kevin J. Messick and Maeve Cullinane. The plot follows a young woman who starts dating a charming man, only to discover his horrifying true nature. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2022, and was released on March 4, 2022, on Hulu by Searchlight Pictures. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

Plot

Noa, a young woman trying her hand at online dating, has become increasingly disillusioned with dates due to the men she interacts with not having general decency. One day at the supermarket, a man named Steve flirts with her and they exchange numbers. On their first date, the two quickly hit it off and have sex. After several dates, Steve invites Noa for a weekend break away alone with him. Against the advice of her best friend Mollie, Noa agrees to the trip. Planning to travel early the following day, Noa spends the evening at Steve's luxury home. Later, the two share a cocktail. Steve drugs Noa's drink and she falls unconscious.

Noa wakes up in captivity, chained to the ground. Steve explains that he is a butcher of human meat, and that he harvests women's body parts and sells them to wealthy clients for consumption. He notes that he will keep her alive as long as possible in order to keep her "meat" fresh. Steve allows Noa to take a shower, but she uses it to try and escape, prompting Steve to surgically remove her buttocks as punishment. Later, Noa befriends another woman named Penny, also being held captive in an adjacent room.

Meanwhile, Mollie becomes concerned about Noa’s disappearance and begins investigating with her friend Paul, a bartender who coincidentally served Noa and Steve drinks on their first date. Searching online, Mollie discovers Steve is actually a man named Brendan, and is married to a woman named Ann with whom he has children. Believing he is having an affair, Mollie visits Ann and informs her of her suspicions. During their conversation, Brendan arrives, and when confronted by Mollie denies any knowledge of Noa. As she leaves, Mollie calls Noa's phone which begins ringing in Brendan's pocket. Ann, revealed to be Brendan's accomplice, knocks Mollie out unconscious.

Hours later, Brendan invites Noa to dinner after she off-handedly asks what human meat tastes like. He persuades her to taste a meal containing the meat, disguised as spaghetti and meatballs, which she reluctantly does. Brendan returns Noa to her cell, and she vomits the contents of the meal. Meanwhile, Brendan takes Mollie away for harvesting. Sensing a connection with Noa, Brendan invites her to another dinner, providing her with a pink dress as a gift. Before dinner, Brendan shows Noa a hidden compartment filled with items belonging to the victims. Noa recognises Mollie's phone among the stolen victims' phones. Following dinner, Noa persuades Brendan to have sex with her, where she pretends to perform fellatio on him and instead bites off his testicles. With Brendan in pursuit, Noa runs and helps Mollie and Penny escape from their rooms.

The three encounter Brendan in the kitchen and begin fighting him, during which Mollie kicks him, knocking him out. They escape into the woods, with Brendan pursuing them with a gun. They manage to attack him again, with Noa taking the gun and shooting Brendan dead. Ann arrives at the house and finds Brendan's body. She encounters Noa in the woods and tries to strangle her, but Mollie bludgeons her to death with a shovel. As she and Mollie relax at a nearby tree, Noa receives a text from a man she went out with at the beginning of the film.

A mid-credits scene depicts five of Brendan's clients in a white room, seated at a table with bleeding human meat at the center. A Satanic symbol is displayed during the end credits, indicating that Brendan and his clients are part of a Satanist organisation.

Cast

Christoph Waltz at 2021 South Bank Sky Arts Awards in London, England.
Sebastian Stan at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International in San Diego, California.
The cast includes Daisy Edgar-Jones (left) as Noa and Sebastian Stan (right) as Steve.

Production

Screenwriter Lauryn Kahn, a fan of the horror genre growing up, said she wanted to write a film that would appeal to people who were horror fans and people who were not.[2] In July 2020, it was reported Mimi Cave would direct the film in her directorial debut for Legendary Pictures, with Adam McKay producing under his Hyperobject Industries banner.[3] To play the antagonist, Sebastian Stan sent Cave an audition video featuring himself dancing with a knife in hand. He added, "The dance sequences were a big concern for [Cave] and just in case she had any doubts that I could do it, I recorded myself in this video."[4] Between September and December 2020, Daisy Edgar-Jones,[5] Stan,[6] and Jonica T. Gibbs were announced to star.[7] Principal photography took place from February 3 to March 17, 2021, in British Columbia, Canada.[1] Alex Somers composed the score.[8]

Release

The film premiered online at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2022.[9] Ahead of its premiere, Searchlight Pictures acquired the film's worldwide distribution rights.[10] An in-person premiere was held on March 3, 2022, inside Hollywood Legion Post 43 on Highland Avenue. Instead of an afterparty, the premiere had a pre-screening reception due to the film's subject matter. Gina Wade Creative created a display for the reception featuring a large table with food on it, cleavers hanging on a wall, glass jars filled with raw meat, and boxes of snacks shaped like body parts.[11] Fresh was released on Hulu in the United States on March 4, 2022, with a Latin American premiere on Star+ and a Disney+ release in all other territories via Star on the same date. The film was released on March 18, 2022, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, after being pushed back a few weeks.[12][13]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 81% of 180 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7/10. The website's consensus reads: "As gripping as it is upsetting, Fresh makes a provocative meal out of the horror of modern dating."[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 67 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b "DGC BC Production List" (PDF). Directors Guild of Canada. March 26, 2021. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 31, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  2. ^ White, Abbey (March 5, 2022). "Fresh Writer Lauryn Kahn on That Bite Sequence and Why Less Cannibal Gore Was More". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  3. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (July 10, 2020). "Legendary Lands Social Thriller Fresh; Mimi Cave Directs, Hyperobject Industries' Adam McKay & Kevin Messick Produce". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  4. ^ Gardner, Chris (March 4, 2022). "See Sebastian Stan as a Knife Wielding Dancer in Fresh Audition Video". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  5. ^ McNary, Dave (September 8, 2020). "Normal People Star Daisy Edgar-Jones Signs on for Legendary's Fresh". Variety. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  6. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 29, 2020). "Sebastian Stan Set To Star With Daisy Edgar-Jones In Legendary's Social Thriller Fresh". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  7. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (December 17, 2020). "Twenties Star Jojo T. Gibbs Joins Daisy Edgar-Jones & Sebastian Stan In Legendary Thriller Fresh". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  8. ^ "Alex Somers Scoring Mimi Cave's Fresh". filmmusicreporter.com. December 27, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  9. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (December 9, 2021). "Sundance 2022: Hybrid Festival Sees Princess Diana, Michael Kenneth Williams, Dakota Johnson, Bill Cosby, NYC Rock'n'Roll & Regina Hall Fill Lineup". Deadline. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  10. ^ Grobar, Matt (January 12, 2022). "Searchlight Pictures Picks Up Legendary And Hyberobject's Thriller Fresh Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones & Sebastian Stan Ahead Of Sundance Premiere". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  11. ^ Gardner, Chris (March 4, 2022). "Inside the 'Meat Cute' Premiere of Fresh With Sebastian Stan and Daisy Edgar-Jones". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  12. ^ Palmer, Roger (February 23, 2022). "Searchlight Pictures Fresh Trailer and Poster Released". What's On Disney Plus. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  13. ^ Palmer, Roger (February 25, 2022). "Fresh Disney+ UK/Ireland Release Delayed". What's On Disney Plus. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  14. ^ "Fresh". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 22, 2022. Edit this at Wikidata
  15. ^ "Fresh". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
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