Suitable Flesh
- 2023
- 1h 40m
IMDb RATING
5.3/10
8.2K
YOUR RATING
A psychiatrist becomes obsessed with one of her young patients, who she later discovers is linked to an ancient curse.A psychiatrist becomes obsessed with one of her young patients, who she later discovers is linked to an ancient curse.A psychiatrist becomes obsessed with one of her young patients, who she later discovers is linked to an ancient curse.
- Awards
- 2 nominations total
Jonah Ray
- Dave the Orderly
- (as Jonah Ray Rodrigues)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
Didn't completely do it for me but on the bright side Judah Lewis reeeally did the most (perhaps served a little Chuck Bass?), and it had some lines that made me cackle:
"Demon octopus.. awesome 😒"
"Then I must've really wanted to F my old man" 🤣
Was definitely intentionally campy, 80's, soap opera-y, so don't go into it expecting a straight-forward or serious horror movie. I think it's important for critics to remember that horror is one of the only genres where people can get weird with it. It may not be your thing, and it may not be Oscar worthy, but just be glad the creativity is alive and happening.
For fans of Malignant, Tales from the Crypt.
Was definitely intentionally campy, 80's, soap opera-y, so don't go into it expecting a straight-forward or serious horror movie. I think it's important for critics to remember that horror is one of the only genres where people can get weird with it. It may not be your thing, and it may not be Oscar worthy, but just be glad the creativity is alive and happening.
For fans of Malignant, Tales from the Crypt.
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.
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.
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.
I really enjoyed this. It felt consciously crafted to honour the style and work of both H. P. Lovecraft and Stuart Gordon. It conveys a purposeful lack of factual reality in service of creating a special story-world tone that was commonly found in the 80s/90s Lovecraftian horror. At times it becomes a campy melodrama which adds to its fun, while at other times walking a fine line between emotional truth and absurdity. I get the feeling that modern audiences may not like this due to the association with H. P. Lovecraft and/or the lack of medical or emotional realism, but for me, that is exactly the point. I grew up on horror movies just like this - fun, campy, fleshy, sexy, they didn't take themselves or life too seriously while still conveying a message worth exploring. They weren't afraid to take some risks, and they didn't expect to win any oscars. These types of films have so much value. They offer us a glimpse into the depravity of our deepest desires and a shedding of the internalised scripts of social civility and explore the craziness that lives in all of us, challenging us beyond the comforts of our social conditioning and into our primal nature. Plus I'm a big fan of Barbara Crampton so this film very easily won me over.
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.
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.
Did you know
- TriviaBarbara Crampton's character, Dr. Daniella Upton, wears a pair of large glasses throughout the movie. These are an intentional homage to Dr. Katherine McMichaels, Crampton's character in Stuart Gordon's From Beyond (1986).
- GoofsHeather Graham witnesses someone being beheaded and gets sprayed with blood. She runs out of the house and there is not a spot of blood on her anywhere.
- Quotes
Dr. Elizabeth Derby: No, wait. I was in your body.
Asa Waite: I was in yours.
Dr. Elizabeth Derby: No, no, I don't mean it like that. I mean, my, my mind was in your body.
Asa Waite: Well, I guess then, if anybody ever tells you to go fuck yourself. You tell them you have.
- Crazy creditsOne of the credits is, "Filmed In Cthulhuscope." While the viewer might consider this a special film process, like CinemaScope, this is actually a portmanteau of Cthulhu and CinemaScope. Cthulhu is a fictional cosmic entity created by H. P. Lovecraft, used in various ways in many of his stories.
- SoundtracksI Need You Like a Donut Needs a Hole
Written by Barry Louis Polisar
Performed by Barry Louis Polisar
Courtesy of Rainbow Morning Music c/o Bodega Sync
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Suitable flesh
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $18,447
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $11,093
- Oct 29, 2023
- Gross worldwide
- $22,751
- Runtime1 hour 40 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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