Sex and Body Horror Fueled Suitable Flesh (FANTASTIC) is a Modern Lovecraftian Romp
Title: Suitable Flesh
First Non-Festival Release: October 27, 2023 (Theatrical Release)
Director: Joe Lynch
Writer: H.P. Lovecraft, Dennis Paoli
Runtime: 100 Minutes
Starring: Heather Graham, Judah Lewis, Barbara Crampton
Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here
This film’s review was written after its screening at the Fantastic Film Festival in 2023.
Sex and horror have gone together for ages, and its history is contentious but important. Nowadays, legions of sex repulsed internet puritans seek to eradicate an integral part of the human experience from film. Suitable Flesh puts up a giant middle finger to them.
Dr. Elizabeth Derby (Heather Graham) takes on a last-minute patient, Asa Waite (Judah Lewis), to her caseload when he presents symptoms for a rare disorder. Asa claims that his abusive father Ephraim (Bruce Davison) wants to take over his body. Before she gets a chance to help, he disappears. Her fascination increases as the man begins haunting her daydreams and nightmares in the days following. She does her best to suppress the thoughts and shelter her doting husband Edward (Johnathon Schaech), but Dr. Derby crosses the line when she eventually sleeps with Asa after witnessing the death of his father. Supernatural consequences follow this lapse in judgement, leading her to seek out advice from her friend Dr. Daniella Upton (Barbara Crampton).
A positively horny body swap mind-fuck, Suitable Flesh takes a bold swing at subversive body horror.
Prioritizing the female gaze and interweaving plenty of queer subtext, Suitable Flesh flips the script on the formula for psychosexual horror. One of Elizabeth’s biggest problems with her patient, before she learns the truth behind his fears, is that she is uncharacteristically attracted to him. Apparently unsatisfied with her husband and captivated by his condition, she imagines herself in a sexual relationship with him. Eventually, this encounter happens in person and the entity locks down Elizabeth as his next target. Ultimately, female pleasure is prioritized, with Elizabeth (or the entity whenever in her body) is in control.
Because the entity that has latched onto Elizabeth’s life is hellbent on switching bodies with her, it gets to experience a part of human sexuality it has long forgotten. In exploring its new body and its new body’s husband’s body, the entity gets a new zeal for life, making it even more dead set on completing its ritual to relegate Elizabeth to Asa’s body forever. Between its fluid approach and attitude towards gender and its love for sex in multiple ways with multiple genders, Suitable Flesh gives a 360-degree view on all that one can experience.
It takes capable actors to deftly play one role, let alone multiple, which is the challenge with Suitable Flesh, one that the cast nails splendidly. Without delving too much into spoilers, Heather Graham and Judah Lewis have their work cut out for them when portraying the various characters required of them. Both Graham and Lewis have a sturdy hold over the entity’s ruthless approach to body conquest and its seductive charms that bolster sexual relations. Graham plays Elizabeth’s usual self with empathy, suspicion, and logic, making for a strong leading character. Lewis, gets to play his hand at the helpless victim begging for support in subverting his terrifying fate. The fear and anxiety bleeds through his performance making his entity persona even more riveting.
Beyond its provocative story, Suitable Flesh excites and entertains with plenty of memorable kills and one-liners, making it the perfect midnight movie to enjoy with friends. Part of what makes a film like Suitable Flesh so fun is its ability to explore all angles of its concept and still have fun with it. From sex, drugs, and navigating a new identity every time it swaps bodies, much of the humor and horror comes from the entity overtaking the lives of the people that cross its path. Camp through and through, Suitable Flesh takes strides to never take itself too seriously. From spontaneous knife play to one of the coolest point-of-view death shots of the year, there is something for everyone in this cosmic horror film.
One of the most entertaining horror films of the year, Suitable Flesh is midnight madness perfect for an open-minded cinephiles. Few horror films can fit great laughs, fun scares, knife play, a demon twink, and Barbara Crampton vaping into a coherent screenplay but Suitable Flesh proves it is not only possible, but narratively sound. With some of the most memorable scenes of the year, including a shot that will make gorehounds salivate, this Shudder acquisition is sure to be a must watch for 2023. Don’t be afraid to get down and dirty at home or at the theaters, you can’t go wrong if you’re watching Suitable Flesh.
Overall Score? 9/10
