Suitable Flesh (2023)

January 27, 2024 5:57 PM

Psychiatrist Elizabeth Derby becomes not-altogether-professionally interested in the case of a young man who is much more than he seems. Based (very loosely) on H.P. Lovecraft's "The Thing on the Doorstep."

Now streaming on AMC Plus and Shudder.

posted by kittens for breakfast (10 comments total)

The spiritual successor of Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator and From Beyond. It's schlock of the very best kind. Everyone understood the assignment and committed 100%. Heather Graham is a hoot. The literally do not make movies like this anymore. It was like stepping into a time machine to the late 80s/early 90s and going to the video store, or staying up late to watch Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater.
posted by mrphancy at 10:03 PM on January 27 [6 favorites]

Watched this last year and I liked, but it never reaches the goopy and horny heights of classics like From Beyond or Society. That said, I don't think that it was trying to. I felt like this was trying for more of a '90s Erotic Thriller with a Lovecraftian twist than straight '80s horror schlock and stumbled in a few places because of it, maybe because that's new ground for Joe Lynch.

I am glad to see someone try to make something a little spicy. I'm getting sick of ponderous elevated horror films about nebulous trauma.
posted by forbiddencabinet at 12:39 AM on January 28 [8 favorites]

One of the things that's interesting to me about Suitable Flesh is that it works with the kinds of Big Themes that "elevated horror" does -- in this case, gender and identity -- and very resolutely makes a fast, visceral, funny, and in no way ponderous b-movie about them. Joe Lynch is, frankly, not Stuart Gordon, and if this movie is not made with the deft command of tone that something like Re-Animator was, well, for mere mortals handling material like this, it's probably all you can do to hang on.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:42 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]

Hell yeah, make horror horny again! Heather Graham and Barbara Crampton as besties is something I never knew I wanted but I'm so glad I got to experience.

This delivered everything that was advertised above; thanks for posting about this film! There were some really nice moments of visual creativity and it all moves at a good pace. It reminded me a little of Lifechanger minus the mumblegore and a healthy addition of B-movie cheese and unrelenting references to Lovecraft.
posted by slimepuppy at 8:58 AM on January 28 [3 favorites]

I loved this movie for all the reasons listed above, and I think it deserves the Oscar for Best Use of a Backup Camera.
posted by ejs at 10:26 AM on January 28 [2 favorites]

The plot is a little telegraphed up front, but I can't say I wasn't entertained watching Joe Lynch attempt to make a Joe Eszterhas script as directed by Stuart Gordon.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:20 PM on January 28

I laughed out loud when they showed Eddie's picture on her phone and it became clear he was a fish guy.

Like, Is Joe Lynch on MetaFilter?

Joe, if you're here, say hi.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:27 PM on January 28 [1 favorite]

Ia! Ia!'90s Basic Cable Production Values f'taghn!

We found the first 1/3 a bit of a slog, with the Red Shoe Diaries sets and acting, and the doughy "sexy" kid vibing like Vincent Kartheiser and not bringing nearly as much heat as a jacked and oft-shirtless Johnathon Schaech, but once the bonkers hit, it rolled along really nicely.

I do wonder -- if you can just shoot the body-swap victim and keep the body, all the extra cell phone calls and so on seem like a lot of additional faff. But maybe I'm overthinking it.

Graham and Crampton certainly understood the assignment, mad respect to Graham for leaning in hard.

And yes: the back-up camera gag was solid gold.
posted by Shepherd at 4:38 PM on January 28 [2 favorites]

Heather Graham's office freaked me out more than anything else. Like, a $10 refurb of a prison cell. That tiny desk gave me fits.
posted by fleacircus at 4:47 AM on February 6 [1 favorite]

For real. It really felt like they were down to the last few bucks in the budget and decided that was where they'd cut corners.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:59 AM on February 6 [2 favorites]