Ronit J

Fresh (2022) Synopsis:

After quitting dating apps, a woman meets the supposedly perfect man and accepts his invitation to a romantic weekend getaway, only to find that her new paramour has been hiding some unusual appetites.

Fresh (2022) Review:

This was a completely random weekend watch. I have vague recollections of seeing the trailer years ago on Instagram. After that the film never made an appearance on any of my feeds. After watching Companion last weekend, I didn’t really want to see another ‘meet-cute romance’ that ‘suddenly flips into horror’. But, I’m glad I did. Because unlike Companion (2025), Fresh (2022) actually got the assignment right.

Fresh begins with Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a twenty-something single girl who’s frustrated with her experience with dating apps. After a particularly bad date, Noa more or less gives up on dating apps. However, she ends up meeting a cute and awkward guy at the grocery store, Steve (Sebastian Stan). Despite Steve’s relative social media absence, Noa strikes up a relationship with him which begins with an almost perfect date that ends with them hooking up.

Mollie (Jonica T. Gibbs) cautions Noa about not taking things too fast, but Noa is completely smitten. When Steve surprises Noa with a weekend getaway, Noa agrees in an attempt to be adventurous. However, that weekend turns out to be every girl’s worst nightmare, if not worse.

Brutal, Stylish, and Captivating

The ‘romantic’ portion of the film plays out exactly as expected. The sudden-yet-expected flip to horror happens exactly as expected. Still, I enjoyed the film in both these portions because the filmmakers took everything seriously. If you pay close attention, or just know that this is a horror film, you can pinpoint every single red flag that Noa misses throughout the meet-cute, courting period of their relationship.

When we see the dark and twisted side of Steve (real name Brendan), the film goes a step further by adding a whole new layer of cannibalism and unchecked capitalism into the mix. Brendan’s entire racket of seducing and kidnapping single, relatively-alone women and selling their meat to the 1% of the 1% shows not just how twisted the human mind can work, but also how unchecked power can enable grassroots level suffering just to satiate unnecessary appetites.

As Noa slowly tries to make sense of her situation, Penny (Andrea Bang)—another one of Brendan’s victims—befriends her. Noa begins to understand Brendan’s play, constantly trying to observe and find a way out. Meanwhile, Mollie does her best to track down Steve, and manages to end up at his house. There, she tries to persuade Ann (Charlotte Le Bon), only to end up captured because Ann is in on the racket.

The filmmakers have treated every step of the plot and every scene of the film with care and attention. From its brutal treatment of its characters, to its food-porn level depiction of human meat being sliced, processed, cooked and served, the film manages to create an uneasy atmosphere that simulates the daunting world that women live in. From dating to even asking for help, every single act can have life-threatening consequences.

Get Out, but Feminist

Get Out is the first thing that came to mind when watching Fresh. From the similarities in plot, to the subversion of expectations, Fresh is to women what Get Out was to the African American community. An attempt to recontextualise the narrative, and create an artistic expression that resonates with a cultural movement, whilst also making sure that the art remains a strong and powerful example of the original template, minus all the problematic elements.

For starters, the film is helmed by women. The main characters are women. The conflict is uniquely women-centric, because what Noa suffers is an exaggerated version of many real women’s experiences. The very fact that date rape, stalking, and more continue to plague our society even today is a shameful admission. Fresh takes that problem, exaggerates it for the sake of entertainment, treats it with style to make it engaging, then forces you to reflect with its thought-provoking substance.

Additionally, not just the problem, but even the solution and resolution are women centric. From Ann’s support of Brendan’s twisted racket, to the ‘cheating partner’ trope that is common to many romance stories, to even the ‘knight in shining armour’ in the form of Paul the Bartender, the film either uses or subverts expectations to further elevate its narrative. Switch out the genders, and the film won’t play out in the same way. Just like how in Get Out, changing the ethnicity would require more significant changes to the other plot points.

Fresh is, fittingly, a fresh and interesting take on the horror genre. One that I sincerely hope that more people discover.

Fresh (2022) Ending Explained (SPOILERS)

Noa seduces Brendan and, while he’s distracted, she bites his penis, leaving him shocked and injured. She escapes and frees Mollie and Penny, who turns out to be an amputee. After a cat and mouse chase—during which Paul the bartender actually comes to the ‘rescue’ but drives off after hearing gunshots as a subversion to the ‘damsel in distress’ trope—Noa and Mollie manage to kill Brendan.

Noa goes back to retrieve her phone from the house. Meanwhile, Ann and her bodyguard find Brendan. Ann orders his body to be put on ice, supposedly to sell his meat to potential clients. She then sees Noa returning with her phone. Ann attacks Noa, only to be overpowered by Mollie. The two proceed to kill her, effectively ending the nightmare they were stuck in. The final shot of the film has Noa’s phone light up with a booty call message from Chad (the guy from the beginning, played by Brett Dier).

In a mid-credits scene, we see Brendan’s clients seated at a dining table with a big steak of human meat that’s bleeding, before a box closes on top. To me, this symbolised how the real problem isn’t yet over, because the exploitative industry exists because someone on top, the 1% of the 1% will continue to hire someone else to satiate their sick appetites. Women across industries continue to face sexism and misogyny despite the many efforts of feminist groups, and will probably continue to suffer unless a change is imposed from above. Efforts from the bottom might raise the bar, but the hands pushing that bar down also need to be stripped of their powers if we want true equality. And while that message is true for women’s rights, it goes far beyond encapsulating all of humanity’s suppressed classes.

Is Fresh (2022) worth watching?

Yes. I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about Fresh (2022). Given how much acclaim Get Out received for its creativity, style, and layered storytelling, it’s a shame that a film about women by women didn’t get even half the same attention and applause.

In Conclusion:

Fresh (2022) is a creative psychological horror that, despite being a bit formulaic, treats its subject matter and characters with care and brutality. What Get Out was for the African American community, Fresh could be for Women.

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