Suitable Flesh

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.

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.

A great and entertaining adaptation of HP Lovecraft as only Dennis Paoli could write. I'm glad Joe Lynch didn't change Paoli's already well-known absurd pace to fit the current horror sluggishness. "Suitable Flesh" starts off frenetic and, accustomed to the format of streaming movies, I expected it to slow down after 30 minutes and subsequently lose direction. That didn't happen.

What begins with a call for help quickly reveals itself to be a trap for a real curse. A possession in several aspects, with an emphasis, of course, on the carnal. Judas Lewis has the physical attributes necessary to make Heather Graham's seduction plausible and his character enters a never-ending sexual nightmare, until it intensifies and expands to the point of completely losing its meaning - like real nightmares.

I may have missed a bit more "flesh" given the nature of this story, but I wouldn't have been embarrassed by a bit more heat on screen and a bit more ingenuity in the cinematography and delirium effects. Despite that, the soundtrack is great, the direction is nimble and it easily brings to mind Brian Yuzna, Stuart Gordon, Sam Raimi and Wes Craven, and the entire cast plays their roles well, with special mention for Barbara Crampton in the final act.

Elizabeth Derby (Heather Graham) has an happy marriage and a good career as a psychiatrist. All of this changes, when she comes across a patient named Asa Waite, seeking her assistance with a weird issue. Elizabeth who prefers to believe science gets late to understand what Asa got her into. His dying father has the ability to body swap via an incantation and so he does, switching into his son's body as well as Elizabeth's. With her life turned upside down and not getting the help she needs from her friend Danielle Upton, she is forced to take matters into her own hands. Will she able to stop this forms rest of the story.

Based on an H. P. Lovecraft's short story, this is as old school as it gets with the ever dependent Heather Graham and Barabara Crampton in the lead. It doesn't try to deliver anything extraordinary, instead it aims for a proper 90mins entertainer with a controlled budget and it almost succeeds. For a while, the entire body swapping is fun with a crazy baddie and desperate Elizabeth along with this being an erotic horror thriller. It does drag on in third act till that climax twist, predictable all along yet mostly serviceable. Overall, it makes up for a one time watch.

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.