Suitable Flesh

I was looking forward to watching Suitable Flesh, it seemed like something I would love, however, I was left rather disappointed. I couldn't get into it at all, it just seemed to aggravate me to the point that I was struggling not to turn it off.

I know it's meant to be campy 80s-like horror. I get it. I just couldn't get past the acting which is flat and robotic to me.

I think the best thing about this film is Barbara, My god she looks amazing. (big Reanimator fan here) So perhaps it was worth watching it for that reason alone. I may go back and give this film another go, as I really want to like it.

As far as Lovecraftian adaptations go...this one is pretty good (most are quite bad, mind you).

Honestly, what would a Lovecraft adaptation be without a little cheese?

Of course this is cheesy.

It's too weird a tale to take itself too seriously.

As it's about a bizarre, slightly incestual, love triangle.

Between a boy, his ailing father, and cougar psychiatrist.

Although, it quickly mutates into more of a love polyhedron, of sorts.

As characters keep switching from body to body...with most ending up banging each other.

In what is eventually revealed to be the works of an ancient curse.

All-in-all, it's cheesy, twisted, entertaining fun.

As all Lovecraft films should be.

6 out of 10.

Heather Graham is the successful psychiatrist "Elizabeth" who finds her daily routine interrupted by a visit from the seemingly paranoid "Asa" (Judah Lewis). Initially sceptical, she begins to become intrigued with his story that he is being persecuted by a man, on the phone, who is threatening him. Indeed one such call induces a sort of fit from the young man! A visit to his home, and she is hooked into a mystery that is somewhat reminiscent of "Fallen" (1998) as it turns our erstwhile respectable physician into someone reduced to some rather lively, impromptu, nookie before incarceration in a padded cell trying to convince her close friend "Dr. Dani" (Barbara Crampton) that she's not completely deranged. This starts off quite interestingly, with a solid effort from Lewis as the troubled youth - but as it progresses and it becomes clear to us just what is going on, the film begins to fall away and lose any potency. The last half hour is violent and brutal, but suffers from a lack of plausibility - in this or any other dimension - and it becomes repetitive and shows up the really mediocre quality of both the writing and the acting. It is watchable, if only for Lewis, but equally forgettable stuff.

Unlike the majority of retro-Horror that comes out this does not rely too much on nostalgia, on archetypes, clichés and set pieces that viewers find comfort in. It actually tells a story of demonic possession/body switching competently, effectively and with just the right tone: not ironic or meta, but also not taking itself too seriously. It's a B-movie that just works, with everybody doing as good a job as can be excepted within the constraints of the genre and budget. There's some suspense in how exactly it is going to get to the unhappy end, and fun it the telling. No real wrong steps, and a hell of a lot to enjoy.

SUITABLE FLESH is loosely based on "The Thing On The Doorstep", by H. P. Lovecraft.

Psychiatrist, Dr. Elizabeth Derby (Heather Graham) has a loving husband (Johnathan Schaech) and a thriving practice. One day, a young man (Judah Lewis) shows up at her office, unannounced. Once Elizabeth agrees to see him, her life begins to change in bizarre, uncontrollable ways. Soon, she is caught up in a whirlwind of sex, murder, and the supernatural.

This is an occult tale of demonic soul / spirit transference, where an ancient entity jumps from body to body, causing mayhem. Both Ms. Graham and Mr. Lewis do an admirable job during their personality shifts / exchanges. Barbara Crampton has a vital supporting role as Elizabeth's best friend, Dr. Daniella Upton. Don't miss her during the jaw-dropping, gore-drenched final act!

A well-realized horror film, it's the sort of movie the late Stuart Gordon might have made...