Infinity Pool (2023)

Brandon Cronenberg, the director of the new film Infinity Pool, is the son of famous filmmaker David Cronenberg. The elder Cronenberg has directed grotesque and bizarre movies like “The Fly”. Judging by this movie, his son is a chip off the old block.

James Foster (Alexander Skarsgard) is a broke wannabe novelist who lives off of his wealthy wife, Em (Cleopatra Coleman). James and his wife are vacationing in a small seaside country. He is hoping to gain inspiration for a new literary venture.

Everything changes when James meets the mysterious Gabi (Mia Goth). She claims to be a huge fan of James’s only published work, which was a critical and commercial failure. Gabi invites James and Em to spend the evening with her and her husband Albin (Jalil Lespert).

Later that evening, the four are on their way back to the hotel when James hits and kills a passerby. The police arrest James and Em after a failed attempt by the group to escape justice. A detective informs them that, per the country’s laws, the victim’s eldest son will execute James.

A sci-Fi story about clones

Luckily, there is a loophole for wealthy tourists like the Fosters. They can pay for the government to create a clone and execute them instead. The Fosters agree. They watch as the son of their victim stabs James’s clone to death. Em wants to leave the country immediately, but a fascinated James wants to stay.

Gabi and Albin reveal to James that they are part of a morbid groups of tourists who commit gruesome crimes and let their clones take the fall for their actions. After all, as long as they have the money to pay for cloning, they can do whatever they want without fear of punishment. James is forced to choose whether to go back home with his wife or stay with his salacious new friends.

Alexander Skarsgard as James in “Infinity Pool”

Skarsgard gives a solid performance as James. His best scene is when he is watching his clone get executed. James is trying to seem disturbed while suppressing his inner delight and titillation from his wife, who is sitting next to him. Skarsgard, using only facial expressions, is brilliant at conveying his true feelings to the viewer.

Mia Goth continues to be a rising star in the horror world. Goth already proved that she is unnervingly great at playing violent psychopaths in “X” and “Pearl”. She does so again here.

Infinity Pool vs. Us

Although their plots and tones are totally different, “Infinity Pool” is comparable to Jordan Peele’s film “Us”. Both movies are about doppelgangers. In “Us”, the clones are the villains, but in “Infinity Pool” they are the victims.

One character in “Infinity Pool” suggests that perhaps the government did kill them, and that they are all clones. After all, if the clones have the exact same memories as the original person, how would you know the difference? This is similar to the end of “Us”, when it is revealed that the main character is a doppelganger despite her family (and the audience) believing that she is the original person.

Shocking or just Unnecessary?

“Infinity Pool” is an intriguing film, but it relies too much on shock value. It’s not as provocative or controversial as Cronenberg intended. He clearly wants this movie to be taken seriously as a piece of art while also titillating the audience with gratuitous gore and nudity. It’s tough to accomplish both of those objectives in the same movie.

Audiences are much more jaded than they were in David Cronenberg’s heyday. “Infinity Pool” has Mia Goth breastfeeding a grown man, loads of people being stabbed, tortured and shot, and even a graphic hand job scene that comes out of nowhere. But is it shocking, by modern horror genre standards? Not really. None of the victims are developed enough for us to care about them.

Rating

“Infinity Pool” is a unique and interesting film, but its strained attempts to be shocking and controversial fall flat. It’s worth watching for lovers of weird movies or people who are fascinated by the concept of doppelgangers and cloning. Everyone else should steer clear.

6.5/10