By Maia Venuti
Staff Writer
Only 27 days into the year of 2023, the best horror movie of the year was released. “Infinity Pool” (2023) starring Alexander Skarsgaard, Mia Goth and Cleopatra Coleman is a horror/sci-fi film about a couple vacationing to a fictional island, in which they discover the country’s perverse, hedonistic culture lying below the surface. Directed by Brandon Cronenberg, son of horror legend David Cronenberg, “Infinity Pool” is his fourth film.
As we are entering the final months of 2023, I feel it is now safe to say, with definitive certainty, that “Infinity Pool” is the best horror movie of this year. Setting aside the knockout performances from Skarsgaard, Goth, Coleman and the rest of the cast, the premise of this movie is unprecedented. I knew when I first saw this film that it was going to be the best movie of this year, because of how unprecedented and just how unique it is.
The premise of “Infinity Pool” revolves around human cloning, more specifically human cloning for the purpose of capital punishment. When the film’s main character, James (Skarsgaard), was found to have committed a crime, he was arrested and the authorities explained to him the options for his punishment, one of which being the use of a clone of him to take his place in the death penalty. The way this element is introduced is extremely abrupt and direct, James is given no time to think about what was laid out in front of him.
What really got me about “Infinity Pool” is that the aspect of human cloning does not feel that far away. Scientific developments of the past decades have led to some incredible advances, like the use of stem cells which are cloned human embryo cells. Animal cloning is already a thing, with entire animals being cloned. The way this film uses human cloning for capital punishment would certainly violate the 8th Amendment of the US Constitution, as it is cruel and unusual, but terrifyingly feels like a very real thing that could occur in some part of the world at some point in the future.
This film also feels very much like a Stanley Kubrick film, particularly a beautiful blend of “A Clockwork Orange” (1980) and “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999). The camaraderie James develops with other vacationers is extremely similar to Alex’s droogs in “A Clockwork Orange,” with there even being shots in “Infinity Pool” that directly mirror shots from the former. The prominent use of masks, a small group of people engaging in debauchery, hedonism, and a bit of the old ultraviolence is so reminiscent of “Eyes Wide Shut”, with emphasis on the hedonism and debauchery.
When I first watched “Infinity Pool” I remember saying that Brandon Cronenberg could have directed “Eyes Wide Shut” or “A Clockwork Orange,” but Stanley Kubrick could not have directed “Infinity Pool.” Maybe I say that because there is no source material that “Infinity Pool” was based on, and Kubrick’s films were book adaptations, whereas “Infinity Pool” is an entirely unique and unheard of premise. It is for these reasons and many others that I maintain the belief that “Infinity Pool” is the best horror film of the year. I genuinely am looking forward to seeing what Cronenberg does next, and how he will continue to flawlessly raise the bar for the horror/science fiction genre.
