Suitable Flesh

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.

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...

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.

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.