Earlier this year, Brandon Cronenberg frightened and disturbed audiences with his latest subversive horror darling Infinity Pool. Following in the footsteps of his 2020 hit Possessor, the film sends Alexander Skarsgård on a vacation from Hell as he experiences the haunting culture of a resort he and his wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are visiting. Initially given the dreaded NC-17 rating, the film had to undergo several cuts in order to get back down to an R rating for theaters. Cronenberg wants fans to experience the full breadth of his sci-fi terror, however, and thus he and distributor NEON have teamed to bring both Infinity Pool and Possessor to three special screenings in their full uncut glory this June to celebrate the former's uncut VOD release on June 13.
The event, aptly titled "‘Brandon Cronenberg Uncut," will see both films played back-to-back in three different locations - June 20 in San Francisco at the Alamo Drafthouse, June 21 in Los Angeles at the Aero Theatre with Beyond Fest and American Cinematheque, and June 23 in New York at the Metrograph. For all three, Cronenberg himself will be there to answer any questions regarding his unique horror features between screenings.
"What makes this special is that this is the first time Infinity Pool is playing free of MPA interference in US theaters – it only played at Sundance," Cronenberg said of the screening. Infinity Pool made its debut at Sundance where it earned solid reviews from those who had the chance to see it. During an interview with Collider out of the festival, Cronenberg even commented on the NC-17 rating system, acknowledging that, while the version audiences saw was mostly the same, there was no avoiding some losses to his vision in the cuts. It was especially important for him, then, to get both films together in their intended form for audiences on the big screen. "Possessor Uncut played Sundance and Beyond Fest in 2020 before playing drive-ins during COVID. It’s the first time these films are playing uncut together.”
What Are Possessor and Infinity Pool About?
Considered one of 2020's best films, let alone horror films, Possessor takes a depraved look at skilled corporate assassin Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough) who executes her high-profile marks by controlling the bodies of other people through a special implant, forcing them to commit suicide once she's done. She slowly starts to lose touch with her own sense of identity, but things take a dire turn when she ends up trapped in a host named Tate (Christopher Abbott) whom she struggles to take control of.
Infinity Pool plays with identity as well as it follows James (Skarsgård) and Em to a resort in a foreign country where they meet another couple, Gabi (Mia Goth) and Alban (Jalil Lespert), whom they hit it off with. When James accidentally kills someone in a driving accident, however, he faces the punishment of death under the country's law. He quickly learns that the wealthiest criminals can get around this by paying for a clone to be executed in his stead, sparking a twisted desire in James that pushes him deeper into the culture of the resort and ultimately breaks him.
Infinity Pool uncut will be available through VOD on June 13 or, if you can't wait, it's also available to rent directly through NEON. Possessor is available to stream on Hulu. Check out our interview with the Infinity Pool cast down below.