Warning: This article contains spoilers for Hulu’s movie Fresh. Reader discretion is advised.
Mind-bending, psychological and animalistic are three words to describe Hulu’s new film Fresh. Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People) and Sebastian Stan (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) co-star as young adults who have a “meet-cute” in the produce aisle of the grocery store, or should I say “meat-cute”. Edgar-Jones plays Noa, a woman who struggles to find the right guy after various unsuccessful dating app interactions. Stan plays Steve, the charming plastic surgeon in the grocery store who seems to have no red flags, unlike Noa’s previous suitors. The two begin dating as the film takes on classic romantic tropes showing them dancing in the living room and growing closer as a couple. As Noa’s best friend Mollie states in the film, “It’s a straight girl’s fantasy come true, right?” when she begins to question Steve’s qualities and lack of social media presence.
Director Mimi Cave created Fresh using an amalgamation of popular genres found in film in a genius way. The film is a romantic comedy meets thriller; Get Out meets American Psycho with reference to the female experience of being on your toes and trusting your gut around men. At the beginning of the film, Noa is seen walking to her car in a dark lot with her keys between her knuckles because she thinks a man is following her. The irony is that by the end of the film she had been held captive by a man that she gave her trust to, Steve. Mimi takes being a woman in a man’s world to new extremes when capitalism meets cannibalism. Steve lures women to his secluded mountain home for a romantic getaway but little do they know they are about to pay an arm and a leg for the trip . . . literally. He roofies Noa’s drink and keeps her locked up in a room where he’ll return when powerful rich men with cannibalistic desires order some young girl meat. Yes, you read that right. The mid-century-modern house has multiple girls locked up waiting to be picked apart, piece by piece. Steve uses his “plastic surgery experience” to remove body parts (legs, breasts, butts and so on) and prepare them to ship, along with personal belongings of the women to the clients. He notes that he doesn’t kill the women (right away) but rather removes their flesh bit by bit until there’s nothing left, that way the meat stays “fresher.” How thoughtful of him. Yes, this film sounds horrifying already, but the way Noa flips the script on Steve by using feminine qualities, like seduction, and psychologically charms her way into her captor’s mind is what makes this film so captivating.
The soundtrack and cinematography in Fresh complement each other perfectly. Tastefully ironic songs found in the movie are “Heads Will Roll” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and “Piece of Me” by Lady Wray. There are too many twists and turns to let alone write about therefore I highly recommend you watch it on Hulu! As a movie lover, this film is at the top of my list because of the constant surprises and strategic plotline. Fresh is a female-led film that encompasses what it’s like to be a woman in today’s world but in a metaphorical way. I do not recommend eating while watching this movie and it’s highly likely you could be vegetarian by the time it ends. Or sworn off of men, either one.