Infinity Pool
A creatively struggling writer named James Foster (Alexander Skarsgård) is taking a break with his wife at a resort—a luxurious island behind barbed wire in the fictional third-world country of La Tolka. One day, along with another couple (Mia Goth and some bearded guy), they illegally venture outside the hotel, have fun on the coast, and on the way back, James accidentally kills a local peasant on the night road. In La Tolka, the penalty for such an act is death, but for foreigners, there’s a nuance: for a certain sum, the authorities create a complete clone of the criminal. The clone remembers everything, understands everything, and is executed instead of the owner, always in his presence. James agrees to the deal and soon discovers that there’s already a circle of rich, perverse tourists gathered at the resort. They indulge in local drugs, commit all sorts of forbidden acts, and then watch with delight as their clones are killed by the police.
The film was directed by Brandon Cronenberg, the son of his famous father. It’s not like his father’s style, but still good. There’s a lot of sex and violence here, a dark picture with psychedelic inserts, excellent performance by Skarsgård, and absolutely amazing Mia Goth. It seems like a new queen of horror is growing up! Rotten Tomatoes (6.3) / IMDB (6.2)
While watching, I kept thinking: what if the sentenced clone suddenly says, “Are you all out of your minds here? Why are you executing me and not him? I am also a human and have the right!” Then I remembered that I had already seen such a movie. It’s called “The Clone,” and you can watch it after “Infinity Pool” as a logical continuation of the theme.