INFINITY POOL

"It's time for you to shed that disgusting larval mind of yours and find out what kind of creature you really are." - Gabi Bauer

How differently do you exist without external judgment? What intrusive desires do we suppress in the name of social conformity? If given unlimited lives and opportunities, who would we become? Cinema as an art-form provides a new world order and cloaks real-life criticism in a fictional story. As the son of the body horror imagineer, Brandon Cronenberg is slowly establishing his own stamp on the horror genre. His newest film Infinity Pool intertwines social analysis and horror to conjure a theoretical examination of human subservience. Cronenberg’s style shows his innovative expression of the human mind which may prove to be his distinguishing cinematic mark.

James Foster, a creatively stumped novelist, and his wife Em vacation at a resort in the fictionalized province of Li Tolqa. They meet Gabi, Foster’s only super-fan who begs for the sequel to his singular published work, and her husband Alban who both push the couple to their limits. Disregarding the resort's rules about leaving the grounds, the four travel to a remote beach one afternoon and during their drive back, James accidentally hits and kills a local man. The penalty for such a crime in Li Tolqa is death by the deceased’s first born son. However, the country has an undisclosed custom allowing rich foreigners to pay a large sum of money to be cloned and have their doubles take their place in the killing. Disgusted, electrified, and undeniably curious, James finds himself enthralled in witnessing his own death, and to Em’s dissatisfaction, finds a group of fellow foreigners who trauma-bond on the awakening only the few have experienced. Psychologically experimental in liberating societal constraints, Cronenberg peels back the layers of communal consonance in a mind-bending thriller that confronts the instinctual driving forces of Freud’s id and the ceaseless death of ego.

A film embalmed in chaos, Infinity Pool derives from the theory that human desires eradicate the concept of right and wrong when removing punishment from the equation. Cronenberg also implements the idea that the human consciousness is inherently demented, directly referencing Freud’s psychoanalytic studies. Law and order establishes a systematic behavioral code which consequently interferes with primal indulgences; murdering when you’re angry or stealing when you’re bored. The film eliminates social etiquette, equivalent to Freud’s interpretation of ego, or what may be considered the mediator between id (indulgence) and superego (morality). Cronenberg’s implication artfully states that human nature sways closer to the hedonistic, self-servicing id mindset, acknowledging the removal of the morally conscience ego condemns humanity to lawless pandemonium. A moral predicament or a voyeuristic precedent based on modern society, the film does more than thrillingly murder clones, it takes Freud’s psychoanalytic philosophy and creatively interprets a small scale outcome of the human subconscious; Infinity Pool isn’t just a film, it's a scientific theory.

Coupled with the dilemma of morality, the film also attacks the concept of identity. Each rich criminal must watch the murder of their clone as part of their sentence. Though as the film progresses, it becomes apparent that each survivor doesn’t truly know whether they are the human they were when they arrived, or a manufactured clone with implanted memories. Slight in its insidiousness infecting James’ mind, it takes time and a few ego deaths for the horror to sink in. Cronenberg’s aptitude for body mutilation found enough screen time, but his true ode to psychological existentialism burrows itself in the idea that James and his fellow hoodlums are just potentially manufactured versions of themselves. Each time a clone is made and slaughtered, the chances of furtherance from their purest identities grows higher; equating a felonious criminal offense to the extraction of ego and corruption of body and soul (Voldemort’s horcruxes ringing a bell for anyone?). The compounding notion of an alien body, trapped under skin that isn’t yours and questioning the validity of your memories, presents a true nightmare throughout the film. Infinity Pool doesn’t just offer a playground for the morally decayed, it posits the presumption that feeding our primeval desires synthesizes our self-identity and manipulates our conscious structure–in the end a byproduct of an outward version of ourselves, but inwardly living with constant acknowledgment of difference.

A psychological horror narrative’s success relies on its delivery. Cronenberg builds his story around James' psyche and the influence Gabi has on it. With social conformity being a central theme in the film, James finds himself pressured by his newly found gang of elitist rule-breakers to succumb to their violent whims. At first, he does–enticed to kill, partake in drug-fueled orgies and abuse resort staff. Cronenberg’s direction aids in James’ initial newfound freedom; the mindset of a docile man releasing years of self-inflicted monotony. Technicolor imagery floods the screen in sexual euphoria; lingering camera-work exposes a sense of barbaric camaraderie; a wave of twisted relief when punishment goes as planned; the film’s technical aspects gives the audience a sickening insight into indulgence. However, an unnerving undertone compounds a constant uncomfortable quality that permeates the film. The wrongness of its entirety, from the committed atrocities, cloning, and hallucinations James experiences, Infinity Pool unlocks a chilling, mind-burrowing catechism engineered to expose humanity’s unlocked potential.

The proverbial mask in which we all hide behind becomes a literal symbolic tool. James and his friends steal traditional Li Tolqa masks (which are actually quite scary in aesthetic to begin with) to break in, steal, pillage, and murder a fellow elite. The concept is trivial in nature but has a powerful result. The masks are contorted and mutilated in a way that provides a subtle twinge of skin-crawling eeriness. Amidst their turbulent heist, they boldly take their masks off, showing James their fearless resolve in the actions he sees in front of him. Throughout the rest of the film the group, with or without James, no longer use these masks in their criminal activities. The disfigured masks represent their corrupted disguises they hide behind in the real world, a corrosive horror-show caused by social and moral restraints. Only when they take these masks off do they feel fearlessly emboldened to their true identities and impulses. Cronenberg furthers his social commentary in this regard by stating the world’s ubiquitous moral compass poisons the subconscious’ suppressed natural state of being– which is, quite simply, evil.

Psychological horror quietly manifests a narrative that questions reality. Allowing our minds to operate in the realms of ‘what ifs’ procures a perturbed emotional response. These films establish an unnerving baseline, it’s up to the viewers to fill in the blanks as to how they would react within these unconventional scenarios. Infinity Pool doesn’t just suggest self-reflection amidst its fictional world, it demands it in the real world. Introducing reality as an abject construct isn’t particularly new. However, implying the cause of abjection is due to social conformity, a central basis for law and order, opens the door for a new wave of self expression. Without consequences or social condemnation, how would you spend your time? What repressed itch would you scratch? Cronenberg just plants the seed, he unravels the hidden parts of you society persecutes, and that becomes your own burden to bear.