Suitable Flesh

O visual de um filme de TV dos anos 90, duas loiras sensuais, um pouco de sexo fingido esquisito e uma gota de sangue. E o enredo é exatamente tão «envolvente» como seria de esperar. [Sitges FF] (06/10/2023)

Joe Lynch adapts H.P. Lovecraft's short story “The Thing on the Doorstep” very loosely, paying homage to the work of Stuart Gordon, whose film adaptations of the Providence stories made that weirdo famous. You can expect a classic retrospective narrative of the protagonist locked up in a mental institution, a bit of eroticism, a few spontaneous outbursts of violence and a good dose of cute overacting and black humour. However, you won’t see the kind of striking special effects we would expect from a Lovecraft adaptation. Here, they try to make up for the visual niceties by playing with the camera and the editing, but it don't look very impressive in that low-budget guise. In its low-budget conception and visuals, it almost evokes direct-to-video films of the 90s, so if I were to compare Suitable Flesh specifically to Stuart Gordon's work, it would belong more to the Castle Freak era than Re-Animator or From Beyond, which is not necessarily a criticism, more of a clarification. For fans of the genre, it might be an interesting throw-back, but for anyone else I'd probably be reluctant to recommend it because of the specificity of the concept. In any case, Heather Graham and Barbara Crampton are a very dynamic duo here, and they don't even share that much screen time together. (07/10/2023)

I'm still on the fence about whether this is a successful Lovecraft adaptation or a tribute to Stuart Gordon's Lovecraftian work, but one thing's for sure: Suitable Flesh is a horror treat that hit the spot for me. The somewhat inconsistent cinematography, with some scenes looking almost TV-like, bothered me a bit, but I can overlook that because I had a blast watching it. These flaws didn't significantly detract from my enjoyment. The film dances between demonic horror, erotic thriller, and black comedy, while also throwing in some neat Easter eggs from the broader Lovecraft universe. Heather Graham is the standout here; she hasn't had such a strong role in a while, and she truly gives it her all. (14/10/2023)

Joe Lynch with an adaptation of a short story by H.P. Lovecraft. It's a bit of a made-for-TV horror thriller that seems to have fallen out of the 90s and will be off-putting for some, but I have no problem with it. There's sex, there's blood and there's dark humor and that's plenty enough for 3 stars for me. It's proper B-grade retro trash, but anyone who doesn't have a problem with that can enjoy it. A psychiatrist becomes obsessed with one of her patients, who seems to have multiple personalities, but the whole thing goes a bit awry. I enjoyed Heather Graham a lot, especially in the final act, which has great lines and is kind of racy and creepy, quite fitting. Whether the film can be recommended I don't know, it obviously didn't sit well with many people, but if you likes offbeat oddities, you might give it a try. 5.5/10. (02/11/2023)