James and Em Foster are enjoying an all-inclusive beach vacation in the fictional island of La Tolqa, when a fatal accident exposes the resort's perverse subculture of hedonistic tourism, re... Read allJames and Em Foster are enjoying an all-inclusive beach vacation in the fictional island of La Tolqa, when a fatal accident exposes the resort's perverse subculture of hedonistic tourism, reckless violence and surreal horrors.James and Em Foster are enjoying an all-inclusive beach vacation in the fictional island of La Tolqa, when a fatal accident exposes the resort's perverse subculture of hedonistic tourism, reckless violence and surreal horrors.
- Awards
- 25 nominations
Dunja Sepcic
- Anna the Cleaning Woman
- (as Dunja Sepčić)
Adam Boncz
- Ketch
- (as Ádám Boncz)
Zijad Gracic
- Dro Thresh
- (as Zijad Gračić)
Amar Bukvic
- Resort Cop
- (as Amar Bukić)
Alan Katic
- Police Officer 1
- (as Alan Katić)
Lena Juka Stambuk
- Myro's Daughter
- (as Lena Juka Štambuk)
Romina Tonkovic
- Receptionist
- (as Romina Tonković)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOriginally rated NC-17 for "some graphic violence and sexual content". After an unsuccessful appeal for an R, NEON edited the film to get the desired rating. The uncut version was screened at Sundance, while the edited version was released in theaters.
- Alternate versionsThere were two, slightly different versions released, an R-rated cut for the U.S. market, and an Unrated (previously, NC-17) one for the rest of the world and the home video market on Blu-Ray. Time differences are negligible; the differences are, as usual in cases such as these, that the Unrated cut contains slightly more violence and nudity. A detailed breakdown of the differences can be found at movie-censorship.com
- SoundtracksCharles Serenade
Performed by Jim Williams
Written by Jim Williams
Courtesy of Bucks Music Group Limited
Featured review
What Happens in La Tolqa Stays in La Tolqa
Premise: Not-so-successful writer seeking inspiration for his next book travels to a La Tolqa, a fictional Eastern-bloc country set on what appears to be the Black Sea. He quickly is sucked into socializing with a group of Western tourists who have discovered a quirk in the host country's legal system: Any crime you commit in the host country can be "redeemed" with a large payment to the local officials and a type of ceremony where a doppelgänger of the criminal is created and then executed in place of the "real" self.
In short, the heart of the horror is a sort of reverse-Dorian Gray where morally repugnant acts are carved-off as a separate entity and then destroyed, leaving the perpetrator to indulge in further acts of depravity.
So, what is left of the "real" self in such an arrangement? (If you have seen "Possessor," the thematic preoccupation is very similar.)
The two central characters are Skarsgard's "James" and Goth's "Gabi." From the beginning, James proves himself to be an empty vessel who is more than willing to be towed out to sea by the beguiling (and increasingly cruel) siren Gabi. Despite the presence of his wife at the resort, James abandons any loyalties he might have to her or her own concerns with what is going on. And, in contrast to newcomer-James, Gabi's social circle appears to have existed in this bizarre world of excess and violent privilege for, well, forever. Yet, they seem to effortlessly enter and exit that world at will (back to L. A., of course!).
But what of James? What he becomes and where he ends up in the closing segments are far from clear. (Emptier than what he already was? A shell of a shell?).
"Infinity Pool" is a confident but cold movie. It reminds me quite a bit of the cult-group/occult horror movies that were made circa 1969-1974. The film uses quite a bit of arthouse-style flash imagery (the hues are different, but I was reminded of Norm Li's work in Panos Cosmatos' films). And despite the events taking place on a linear narrative, they are nonetheless sometimes difficult to follow due to Cronenberg's cinematic choices. In short, I can understand the polarizing reviews. I myself have mixed feelings. The film is very well done, the acting top-notch, and Cronenberg certainly attempts much more than the average horror flick director. But the "point" of the film is not always clear . . . And I felt like soaking in Dawn after viewing it. Recommended, with an asterisk.
In short, the heart of the horror is a sort of reverse-Dorian Gray where morally repugnant acts are carved-off as a separate entity and then destroyed, leaving the perpetrator to indulge in further acts of depravity.
So, what is left of the "real" self in such an arrangement? (If you have seen "Possessor," the thematic preoccupation is very similar.)
The two central characters are Skarsgard's "James" and Goth's "Gabi." From the beginning, James proves himself to be an empty vessel who is more than willing to be towed out to sea by the beguiling (and increasingly cruel) siren Gabi. Despite the presence of his wife at the resort, James abandons any loyalties he might have to her or her own concerns with what is going on. And, in contrast to newcomer-James, Gabi's social circle appears to have existed in this bizarre world of excess and violent privilege for, well, forever. Yet, they seem to effortlessly enter and exit that world at will (back to L. A., of course!).
But what of James? What he becomes and where he ends up in the closing segments are far from clear. (Emptier than what he already was? A shell of a shell?).
"Infinity Pool" is a confident but cold movie. It reminds me quite a bit of the cult-group/occult horror movies that were made circa 1969-1974. The film uses quite a bit of arthouse-style flash imagery (the hues are different, but I was reminded of Norm Li's work in Panos Cosmatos' films). And despite the events taking place on a linear narrative, they are nonetheless sometimes difficult to follow due to Cronenberg's cinematic choices. In short, I can understand the polarizing reviews. I myself have mixed feelings. The film is very well done, the acting top-notch, and Cronenberg certainly attempts much more than the average horror flick director. But the "point" of the film is not always clear . . . And I felt like soaking in Dawn after viewing it. Recommended, with an asterisk.
helpful•9050
- captainpass
- Feb 3, 2023
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Безмежний басейн
- Filming locations
- Sibenik, Croatia(resort)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $5,078,400
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,514,364
- Jan 29, 2023
- Gross worldwide
- $5,202,301
- Runtime1 hour 57 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
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