“Suitable Flesh” feels like a movie displaced from the nineties. It feels like a film that would have originally starred Linda Blair and Julie Strain in the duel roles we see in Joe Lynch’s newest horror film. In many ways that’s both a pro and a con as “Suitable Flesh” is completely out of what director Joe Lynch typically delivers. While “Suitable Flesh” pegs itself more as Lovecraftian body horror, the movie leans very heavily more on erotic camp revolving around a lot of body switching and hyper sexual violence. While the movie will definitely have its fans, at the end of the day “Suitable Flesh” and I just didn’t click with it.
“Suitable Flesh” sees Psychiatrist Elizabeth Derby become obsessed with helping a young patient suffering extreme personality disorder. But it leads her into dark occult danger as she tries to escape a horrific fate.
The movie itself is fine enough in its parts, but as a whole it feels like a big missed opportunity that never takes enough from this premise to garner good frights. Rather, Lynch revels in its over the top tone and inability to be truly scary. It’s more bizarre and gonzo at times with the whole threads with Lovecraft presented as a loose aesthetic and recurring theme than anything else. Films like “The Skeleton Key” just handled concepts in the same vein with much better coherency and tension. To his credit “Suitable Flesh” is a well made film deriving some great performances from its seasoned cast.
Everyone here are just on their A games including Barbara Crampton and Heather Graham, respectively. I don’t know how these women don’t look as if they’ve aged a day, but lo and behold. They’re both gorgeous and deliver on strong turns, alongside other folks like Bruce Davison, Jonathan Schaech, and Judah Lewis respectively. Lewis in particular seems to be having a ball in this role, providing a layered performance that alternates between vulnerable victim and sex crazed psychopath. “Suitable Flesh” has a ton of talent in its corner the film just never amounts to anything I’d ever see again. It’s a shame since Lynch’s penchant for nihilism is usually a great asset to his film projects.