Fresh (2022)

  

Streaming Service: Hulu

Movie Name/Year:  Fresh (2022)

Genre: Horror, Romance, Thriller

Length:  1h 54min

Rating: R

Production/Distribution: Searchlight Pictures, Legendary Entertainment, Hyperobject Industries, Disney+, Hulu, Star+

Director: Mimi Cave

Writers: Lauryn Kahn

Actors: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan, Alina Maris, Andrea Bang, Brett Dier, Charlotte Lebon, Dayo Okeniyi, Jojo T. Gibbs, Lachlan Quarmby, William Belleau

 

Rottentomatoes Blurb: FRESH follows Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones), who meets the alluring Steve (Sebastian Stan) at a grocery store and -- given her frustration with dating apps -- takes a chance and gives him her number. After their first date, Noa is smitten and accepts Steve's invitation to a romantic weekend getaway. Only to find that her new paramour has been hiding some unusual appetites.

 

Cat’s Point of View:

Fresh has generally flown under my radar thus far. I honestly don’t remember what I had thought of its trailer back in 2022 when it originally premiered. I went into this viewing essentially blind and, as a result, was blindsided by the experience. 

I didn’t see this take on the utter grind of modern dating going in the direction it went at all. I’m actually a bit frustrated as I try to put coherent thoughts together that don’t spoil the big reveal.

 

Fresh was as intriguing as it was nauseating. I have questions that may never be answered, and I’m generally okay with that. I have guesses, at least; as the story gives enough clues for the audience to draw their own conclusions on some fronts. That being said, while the gore was relatively high - there was far less blood and guts than I would expect for this sort of film. I feel that was actually a rather brilliant choice, though, to the credit of the story. Too much precision was required to maintain the cogwheels turning for this particular narrative.

 

I’m impressed that this was the feature directorial debut for Mimi Cave (Vessel, Danny Brown: When It Rain, I'm Happy I Promise). Fresh also describes her take on this sort of genre as well as the meaningful title name. 

 

 

This is the first time I can think of that I’ve seen a movie’s title card and opening credits appear 33 minutes into the film. It was a little jarring when it happened. I had entirely forgotten by that point that it hadn’t already occurred. 

Daisy Edgar-Jones (Albion, Where the Crawdads Sing, War of the Worlds) and Sebastian Stan (The Last Full Measure, The 355, Ghosted) were also great in their respective roles. I believed their screen chemistry, and still have a little bit of mental whiplash from the direction their story took. Jojo T. Gibbs (Good Trouble, Something From Tiffany's, Past Lives) was also a great casting for the ride-or-die bestie of the main character, Noa. 

 

When all is said and done, Fresh was a solid movie. I can’t say that I’d want to watch it again, but only because of the nature of the story itself. I’m satisfied with a one-and-done viewing scenario here. There were a few moments that were a little bizarre to me but didn’t take away from the general experience. Fresh isn’t for the faint of heart (or stomach for that matter) but it wasn’t a waste of nearly 2 hours. 

 

 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 82%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 81%

Metascore – 67%

Metacritic User Score – 6.3/10

IMDB Score – 6.7/10

 

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3/5

 

Movie Trailer: