Disney released Fresh, a new horror film called a rom-com. It tells of a serial killer that seduces women to go on dates and then decapitates them to make money for his hungry clients.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival virtually on Thursday. On March 4, it will stream live on Hulu owned by Disney.
Legendary Productions produced the film, which was then acquired by Searchlight (one of Disney’s subsidiaries).
Some critics embrace it as an innovative new approach to American Pyscho. Others find it downright disgusting and gratuitously gory.
Disney has changed from family-friendly content into a R-rated thriller with blood and guts. This shocks many.
The film stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, who played Marianne in the miniseries Normal People, and Sebastian Stan of Captain America.
Daisy Edgar Jones (who played Marianne in Normal People’s miniseries) and Sebastian Stan from Captain America are new stars. His charming neurosurgeon is handsome and seduces women before taking them to the country to be cut up.
Edgar-Jones portrays Noah who gets sick of dating apps online and finds Steve at the grocery store
Stan plays the role of Steve, a charming and handsome neurosurgeon. He meets Noah (Edgar Jones) at the grocery store.
Noah is tired of dating online and jumps at the chance to be with someone. After a couple of dates Noah agrees to meet up in person.
That is where he carves her up to feed her body parts to his customers, as he has done with other women, some of whom remain imprisoned at the house.
Even Lecter might be repulsed at what goes on here,
Pete Hammond, Deadline critic
It is the most disgusting part: he not just eats them but also sells their organs and limbs to cannibals in exchange for food.
Mimi Cave, a female director who directed the film, was an important reason for some praise.
She was praised by them for bringing up themes such as the consumption of female bodies and modern dating horrors.
Most people could not get over the horrifying and inevitable gore.
Deadline critic Pete Hammond quipped: ‘Even Lecter might be repulsed at what goes on here, not just for Steve’s kinky pleasure, but as a business he runs where the customers will clearly set the image of men back a few hundred years.’
‘You’d be forgiven for assuming that a movie co-starring Daisy Edgar-Jones (the star of the sex-scene heavy “Normal People”) and Sebastian Stan (a man who doesn’t own a shirt) would be a hot-blooded romance.
‘But Fresh will more likely make you hurl than send you racing for a cold shower,’ wrote New York Post film critic Johnny Oleksinski.
Josh Encinias, a reviewer said that he felt ‘disturbed by’ the film in a positive way.
After watching the film at Sundance’s virtual Festival on Thursday, this critic observed that “the less you know the more”
These two are seen filming together in Vancouver last summer. Hulu will release the film on March 4,
Edgar-Jones is most well known for playing Marianne in Normal People’s miniseries
“I entered #Fresh knowing nothing about the plot. This was my first impression of a romantic comedy about a vampire and it said that they had an unusual appetite. Baby.
‘This was a mind-f*** of a movie. A reviewer from the African American Film Critics Association tweeted, “The more you know the better.”
Many others were stunned that Disney took it on.
‘This is a horror movie that is pretty disgusting, not terribly clever, but one that Disney- yes, Disney– will release this year,’ wrote Showbiz 411’s Roger Friedman.
Mimi Cave (director of Mimi Cave), who has until now been well-known for creating music videos, stated that consumption, commodification, and the power dynamics in love relationships were some of her main themes.
‘There’s a lot of tropes in this film that are there for a reason – and hopefully we’re challenging them. We’re twisting them in a different way,’ she told Variety recently.
Searchlight Representatives did not immediately reply to queries about Monday morning’s film.
Filmed in Vancouver, Canada last year.
Edgar-Jones said in a Variety interview that he was preparing for the debut of Variety last week:[The film]This is a way of showing the fear we have of being threatened, without having to discuss or question it.
‘What’s so wonderful is being able to explore that whilst also creating something that is really entertaining. The script contains a lot dark humor. I love it.
Stan has had roles in Gossip Girl as well. [It]It kinda pulls at your feet. As actors, it’s a nice challenge.’