by Martin Unsworth
Joe Lynch (Mayhem) heads to H.P. Lovecraft territory with this adaptation of the short story, The Thing on the Doorstep and crafts a disturbing shocker destined to be a cult favourite.
Heather Graham is Dr Elizabeth Derby, a psychiatrist who becomes a little too involved with her enigmatic patient, Asa (Judah Lewis). Asa has a multiple personality problem, which Elizabeth thinks might be down to his possessive father, Ephraim (Bruce Davison). The truth is much stranger and deadly as Ephraim is, in fact, possessed by an evil entity that allows him to switch into his son’s body. He has his sights on using Elizabeth to keep his essence alive. Elizabeth’s long-time friend and colleague, Dr Dani Upton (Barbara Crampton), might be the only hope of saving her soul.
Suitable Flesh opens at a moment in the story where Graham’s character is in a padded cell, frantic and accused of murder, with Crampton listening in disbelief at what has happened. We then flashback to the first meeting with the troubled Asa. While this might take a little bit of the surprise out of the tale, it’s an instant hook that draws the viewer into the action nicely.
Lynch shows his flair for being inventive with the camera, which is quite dizzying in places. (Hats off to cinematographer David Mathews!) It’s something that elevates what could have been a routine body-swap story to something much more interesting. There are plenty of gnarly moments and touches of humour (particularly from the morgue attendant, played brilliantly by genre favourite Graham Skipper). It’s Heather Graham who shines, however, seemingly relishing the chance to ramp up her performance as the evil slips in and out of her body. It’s always a delight to see Barbara Crampton, particularly when her role gets more physical in the climax.
While things don’t get as cosmic as some Lovecraft adaptations, there’s certainly enough strangeness to keep fans happy.
Suitable Flesh is in UK cinemas and VOD from October 27th.
