After the surprising and weird Antiviral (2012) and the creepy astonishing Possessor (2020), Brandon Cronenberg is back this year with Infinity Pool (2023). The son of David Cronenberg, the undebatable master of Body Horror, is firmly following the steps of his father and we can’t be happier about that.
In his new movie, on pristine beaches, evil sparkles under a pure sun as the staff read the slightest wish in your eyes: James and Em are enjoying the perfect vacation. But one day when they walk outside of the gates of the luxury resort with the seductive and mysterious Gabi, a tragic accident occurs and suddenly there is no turning back for the couple. They find themselves in a parallel world of violence, boundless hedonism, and unspeakable horror, and are faced with an unimaginable choice under the island’s zero-tolerance crime policy: be executed, or if you can afford it, watch yourself die! What happens when life and death are so similar that you cannot tell them apart anymore?
The main cast is formed by Alexander Skarsgård, Mia Goth, Cleopatra Coleman, Dunja Sepcic, Adam Boncz, Jalil Lespert, Zijad Gracic, Amanda Brugel, Jeff Ricketts, John Ralston, and Thomas Kretschmann.
Before its European premiere at the 73rd Berlinale on February 22, 2023, the Berlin International Film Festival, Infinity Pool (2023) had its worldwide premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2023, and, after that, it was released on theaters in the USA and Canada.
Infinity Pool (2023) is Rated R for graphic violence, disturbing material, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use, and some language. Watch its official trailer here.
This year Berlinale is throwing a homage to one of the most influential American filmmakers of the last decades, Steven Spielberg, with special screenings of some of his most notorious pictures including Duel (1972), Jaws (1975), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), his latest to date film The Fabelmans (2022), and the debut of the Indiana Jones franchise, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).
Three films outstand this year at the Berlinale Retrospective section, which are Francis Ford Coppola’s Rumble Fish (1983) featuring the very young Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, and Diane Lane, Víctor Erice’s Spanish fantasy tale El espíritu de la colmena (1973), and David Cronenberg’s Body Horror classic Naked Lunch (1991) with a cast that includes Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm, Julian Sands, and Roy Scheider.
This year, a nice collection of thrillers are populating the Berlinale line-up, in which we can outstand Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche’s French gang action Le Gang Des Bois Du Temple (2022), Chhatrapal Ninawe’s Indian crime action Ghaath (2023), Vasilis Katsoupis’ heist drama starring Willem Dafoe Inside (2023) having its world premiere, Sung-hyun Byun’s single mother hired killer story Kill Boksoon (2023), Ivan Sen’s Australian detective Limbo (2023), and Andrea Di Stefano’s diamond heist-gone-wrong L’ultima notte di Amore (2023).
In the key of horror, we must also outstand the world premiere of Perpetrator (2023), the new movie by Jennifer Reeder. She is not a foreigner in the Berlinale environment since her latest film, the mystery thriller Knives and Skin (2019), was nominated for the Crystal Bear for Best Film.
In Perpetrator (2023), starring Alicia Silverstone, Melanie Liburd, Kiah McKirnan, Casimere Jollette, Ilirida Memedovski, Ireon Roach, and Sasha Kuznetsov, tells the story of Jonny Baptiste, a reckless teen sent to live with her estranged Aunt Hildie. On the event of her 18th birthday, she experiences a radical metamorphosis: a family spell that redefines her called Forevering. When several teen girls go missing at her new school, a mythically feral Jonny goes after the Perpetrator.
Perpetrator (2023) is nominated for the Panorama Audience Award for Best Fiction Film and the Teddy award for Best Feature Film.
All the info about the program, schedules, and tickets can be found on the official Berlinale website.
