By Trevor Verbeist
Staff Writer
A thriller, “Fresh” creates a clever perspective on modern-day dating that chills the audience.
Directed by Mimi Cave, the film unleashes an entirely thrillingly horrifying nightmare of dating today through quick-witted dialogue and gory situations. It reveals the true horrors of what could potentially happen a few dates into a new relationship, but in a more hyperbolic way, such as the naivety the protagonist portrays throughout the film toward the audience.
After the main protagonist of the film, Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones), goes on an awful date with a man who tells her to dress “more femininely,” she gives up on swiping through tinder. Noa is a woman with no familial ties, but she has her best friend Mollie (Jonica T. Gibbs) by her side, consistently keeping her in check. Noa is lonely, but nevertheless has continual bad luck in finding love.
Noa meets a man in an aisle of a grocery store, Steve (Sebastian Stan), who proceeds to ask her out in a cliché way. Steve has no social media accounts on the internet, which Noa ignores.
The intensity each actor/actress brings to the film keeps many on the edge of their seats. Each scene gradually grows to a shocking yet mentally draining film.
As the film continues, Noa is invited on a little get-away weekend with Steve to a place without a single bar of cell service. The rest involves Noa’s most stressful fight of her life where she quickly uncovers the grim secrets Steve hid from her, making her and the audience feel frustratingly clueless.
“Fresh” was able to display just the right amount of gore and suspense that a horror movie needs without making it too corny. Through strategic film tactics, director Mimi Cave was able to open up the world of possibilities to the horror genre of this generation.
Cave brilliantly ties in parts of the beginning of the film to the end to leave a deeper message in the minds’ of the viewers that involves the naivety of the protagonist.
The audience becomes extremely frustrated with Noa due to her missing so many obvious and blatant warnings.
Additionally, an enjoyable aspect of the film was the frustration of wanting the protagonist to fix problems. Cave truly publicizes this film to the public in a phenomenal way.
A key element to the film’s success is its ability to put viewers in a trance by the 30-minute mark where the audience is left hungry for more. It entertainingly displays the complex mind of a lunatic who dances around his kitchen preparing fresh human meat for dinner.
The well-blended mix of horror, comedy, and romance all allow “Fresh” to be a memorable experience, and it’s what makes this movie so well written and produced. Through its originality and wit, “Fresh” is a truly remarkable and unforgettable film.
“Fresh” is now available for streaming on Hulu and is rated R.
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