Brandon Cronenberg is one of the most creative and twisted minds in Hollywood. He follows up his 2020 film Possessor with another wild ride in Infinity Pool. He brings horror queen Mia Goth and Alexanders Skarsgard along for the ride.
Infinity Pool Review and Plot Summary
Infinity Pool follows the story of a couple on vacation who are having a great time until a crazy turn of events finds them behind bars.
We meet James (Skarsgard), who sees a person going mad on the beach. Moments later, we see Gabi (Goth) inform him of what is happening, followed by complimenting him on his book. She knew he was author James Foster, and he was shocked as he said not many people read his book. The duo shares a little back-and-forth banter leading to us meeting Gabi’s man, which leads to them inviting him out for dinner.
During dinner, we see Gabi and Thresh and James and Em chatting it up and getting to know each other. Gabi asks about James’s new book, but it’s a sore subject for James as he is looking for inspiration.
During dinner, Gabi and Thresh suggest that James and Em head out of the resort to spend the day with them. The following day, Em questions James on why they would leave the resort area as it could be very dangerous. However, James thinks it would be fun to mix things up a bit.
While the duo is out and about, James uses the restroom by a tree away from everyone else. Moments later, Gabi comes over and begins to pleasure James until he climaxes. (side note: this part was cut from the theatrical version of the film shown in theaters to get it from NC17 to Rated R.
I saw Infinity Pool at Sundance, and it was in this version still). Finally, as they head back to the resort, James is driving, and you can tell he begins to feel quite guilty, but while driving, he is trying to get the lights to work, but his lack of visibility causes him to hit someone with the car.
Of course, everyone is freaking out, and James wants to call the police, but Gabi explains that they need to get in the car and leave and that this isn’t a country where they want to go to jail. Unsure of what to do next, James and Em get back in the car and head back to the resort. Unfortunately, James starts to feel sick when they return to the resort because of what went down. Upon waking up the next day, James and Em are escorted to the police station.
If you follow Brandon Cronenberg’s work, like 2020’s Possessor, you know you are in for some twisted, weird, disturbing ride. The film starts off somewhat normal, but after we see James and Em get taken to jail, all things fly off the wall.
One thing I do love that he does is blur the lines of reality because you are often wondering what is real and what is not. Several sequences had you questioning things happening because they felt real, but then they didn’t.
Is the horror movie Infinity Pool good?
Within the last year, we saw movies like The Menu, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and Triangle of Sadness all take on wealth and class. We see Cronenberg tackle it in a more uncharacteristic way that is more shock and awe, but if you follow along, the point gets across rather well. I would be lying if I’m not a little tired of these types of films, but the exposure of the rich will never get old.
Caught up in this web of weirdness, you have two actors consistently proving they are the best of the best. Alexander Skarsgard and Mia Goth have shown their range of incredible work within this film industry in the last year.
However, I was quite a bit impressed with Goth in this as she is a little more restrained as Gabi. She is stunningly shot by Cronenberg, which highlights how much of a movie star she truly is. Goth will be a name you hear for generations to come.
Infinity Pool is a good movie. Goth and Skarsgard elevate this twisted, crazy, weird ride that I liked quite a bit. That said, unless you are familiar with Cronenberg’s work and how strange it can be, I don’t think this movie will be for you.
Infinity Pool Ending Explained
Infinity Pool (Credit – Elevation Pictures)
Infinity Pool ends where we see Gabi and her crew at the airport flying back home like nothing ever happened. However, like any good Cronenberg film ending, we get a massive twist that leaves you guessing what happened. We find out James hasn’t left the resort but sticks around sneaking back into the place, and the film comes to a close with us seeing James sitting down and getting drenched by rain.
What is James’s final test?
James must complete his transformation by beating a double of himself to death. We see James struggle with it, but he quickly understands he has no other choice. After completing the task, we see James relegated to crying in a fetal position on the floor. It was almost as if this moment was the birth of James joining Gabi’s little cult, or so we think.
Why does James Stay at the Resort?
The biggest theory is that he has stayed at the resort because the entire vacation has caused too much damage to him to go home. However, another one is that we see James’s clone at the end of the film and not James himself.
Basically, this is saying that James died in the execution earlier in the movie, and the person we see for the remainder of the film is his clone. It would explain his somewhat awkwardness and reluctance to leave the resort. I love a good theory, so if you have any ideas about what the ending meant, hit us in the comments below.
What did you think of Infinity Pool? Comment below.
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