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I’m a big fan of actor/writer/director Joe Lynch even if his films don’t always resonate with me. Whether it’s through the sitcom “Holliston,” podcast The Movie Crypt or his more accomplished movies (“Wrong Turn 2: Dead End,” “Mayhem”), Lynch has always come across as a cool dude and an interesting personality. (He’s also a great Letterboxd follow.) Lynch’s latest “Suitable Flesh” (available in select theaters and on VOD beginning Friday, Oct. 27) – an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story “The Thing on the Doorstep” – doesn’t entirely work for me, but there’s enough freak and kink to keep things going on an interesting streak.
College student Asa (Judah Lewis, a horror veteran having appeared in Netflix’s “The Babysitter” flicks and RKSS’ “Summer of 84”) seeks help from psychiatrist Dr. Elizabeth Derby (a game but arguably miscast Heather Graham) in dealing with his dissociative identity disorder. Derby wants to be of assistance to Asa and is concerned with his well-being, but she also can’t seem to shake sexual feelings she’s having for the young man. This, despite being in a seemingly happy marriage with Edward (Johnathon Schaech – I can’t see this dude without thinking of the, “I quit,” bit from “That Thing You Do!”).
Derby visits Asa’s father Ephraim (a live-wire Bruce Davison) and consults with her friend and colleague Dr. Daniella Upton (horror goddess Barbara Crampton, a welcome presence who has far more screen time than I was expecting) in hopes of getting to the bottom of Asa’s illness. Things get way weird from here on out with bodies swapping and dropping.
“Suitable Flesh” feels like a cross between Stuart Gordon and Brian De Palma, but less accomplished. (This is to be expected as it was penned by frequent Gordon collaborator Dennis Paoli.) It’s refreshingly sex-forward, which serves in stark contrast to today’s tameness. I found the front half of the picture to be a bit of a slog, but it was arguably necessary to build a foundation upon which the second half’s craziness could stand. This is all good and well, but I often wanted to shout, “Stop the bore! Bring on the gore!”
Once the gore hits it hits hard. A backup camera is employed with great creativity and once things get super-squishy it certainly recalled “Re-Animator” in the nastiest ways imaginable.
“Suitable Flesh” is well-shot (I was impressed by David Matthews’ cinematography – he also recently lensed “Jakob’s Wife” and “Glorious), well-edited by newbie Jack N. Gracie (I adored the implementation of De Palma-esque split screen) and well-acted (I especially enjoyed the performances of Lewis and Davison). It’s plenty mean. I just wish it were a little more lean.