SUITABLE FLESH Review: Sultry Psychological Thrills Bookend Joe Lynch’s Gory Supernatural Heather Graham Starrer
Vertigo Releasing will release Suitable Flesh in UK Cinemas from October 27, and on Digital Download from November 27
Director Joe Lynch’s first film in four years since leaving off with Netflix original Point Blank and gory thrillers like Mayhem and Everly now brings us a new look among a few revisiting a short story classic by author H.P. Lovecraft in Suitable Flesh, currently making the festival rounds and headed by the gorgeous and talented Heather Graham, Barbara Crampton, Judah Lewis and Johnathon Schaech.
The story is as sultry, chilling and violent as you might expect given the trailer that’s up and running as of late. What’s more is how the film almost serves as a cautionery reminder of how frustrating it is to trust doctors sometimes – I reckon that’s another conversation for another time, although it’s a little difficult to ignore given the foreshadowing that takes place in the first few minutes, and even then, the film does terrific at hiding its intentions.
Alas, the film opens at a point in the story where things are well on their way to run their course. Terrible things have ensued and you don’t yet know why, and so you’re compelled to keep watching, from the moment we’re introduced to the mundane life of wife, psychiatrist and accomplished author Elizabeth (Graham) as she’s thrust into a tailspin with the entry of Asa (White), whose chaotic, personality-switching life is about to take a turn for the worse thanks to his father, Ephraim (Bruce Davison)
Seeking help at Elizabeth’s clinic, the doctor is forced to watch what unfolds with Asa, unbeknownst to her as to who he is in the moment or what causes him to switch. It draws an obsession that soon begins to affect her marriage and home life with loving husband Edward (Schaech), so much so that the closer she gets to Asa, the more in danger she becomes to the entity that now threatens to consume them both, jumping between bodies and using hers and Asa’s like an unstoppable, incorrigible force.
Between the forcible body swapping, shocking revelations of demonic rituals, a gruesome death and the incumbent involvement of police, the only one left who can possibly help Elizabeth and Asa is fellow doctor and secret handshake bestie, Daniella (Crampton). With a limited number of possessions and time running out, the two must act knowing that the evil spirit is always one chant away from corrupting both their lives and destroying them forever.
I’m not too learned on the ‘demonic possession’ sub-genre of horror films, so feel free to gauge Suitable Flesh by your own merits. What I can say is that it offers some truly unnerving moments to couple with the sexual allure and brutal gore. It’s a journey that aims to please, nonetheless, as Graham takes the wheel with a character ultimately consumed by a monstrous psyche with an intriguingly genderless approach to its evil agenda. I was also taken aback by just how transformative this aspect of the film plays into the marriage, particularly in one of several moments of intimacy – the aftermath to which Elizabeth is revealed with frightening results.
The big pay off commences well into the second half where Suitable Flesh finally finds our hero able to put her trade to work, resulting in a physical struggle that finishes in a stabbing rage and a pool of blood, a moment far from the grand finish this film aims to be. For that matter, the ritualistic aspects of this film sort of end up taking a back seat as it becomes less and less pertinent to the needs of the film while inching closer to the spiraling finish.
It’s not a huge deal, and if only for the fact that Suitable Flesh plays out nicely for fans of horror who love seeing Graham and Crampton on screen. Provided that you’re not turned off by erratic and frenzied edits of character transformations, sex or the sight of a half-co man dragging his own mutilated torso across the room with one eye open, Suitable Flesh should suit your wicked tastes adequately.
