We’ve all been there, right? You’re on a dating app, and you keep swiping and swiping, and then you come across a profile that is too good to be true. Maybe you even swipe right, just in case it’s legit. Then, it’s just a bot trying to scam you out of money. We’ve all been there, right? RIGHT?!
OK, not YOU committed people who have been with the same person since high school. You can take this whole review as an education. But at least 10% of you out there have had that experience…
However, what if a bot wasn’t the worst-case scenario? That’s the question posed by Succubus, the new film from R.J. Daniel Hanna starring Brendan Bradley, Rachel Cook and Ron Perlman. Succubus is a modernisation of a classic monster myth told via the lens of online dating.
Scary stuff. Maybe even scarier than being catfished. Maybe.
Chris (Brendan Bradley) is going through a tough time. He’s going through a less-than-successful time at work and a trial separation with his wife (Olivia Grace Applegate) despite having a baby together (a very young baby at that!). And he’s not getting much sympathy from his best friend or his mother, who both think he should just cheer the hell up!
What better way to cheer himself up than the soul-sucking ordeal of online dating, eh? Well, he’s kinda bullied into it by his friend Eddie (Derek Smith), but still, I don’t think it was the best idea. Even if he hadn’t matched with a too-good-to-be-true girl that may or may not be out to steal his soul, it would have been a bad idea after only being separated from his wife for two freaking weeks!
Honestly, Adra’s (Rachel Cook) profile may have been worth the risk, though. Chris was doomed from the start…
I really dug Succubus’s style. Similar to Searching, most of this movie is told from the perspective of a computer screen. That means you can see Chris’ actions from the perspective of his laptop camera or other devices. He video calls his friends or Adra, the dangerous girl he matched with. You can see his son’s room via his baby monitor cam. Even his legally-distinct-from-Facebook generic social media platform messenger can be seen on his screen.
It’s through these interactions that Succubus shines. It has hilarious moments, especially when Chris is talking with his dude-bro friend Eddie. The timing of the messages on screen punctuates the film with laugh-out-loud moments. They were so relatable because I know a handful of people who would message in the exact same way, and it had me cracking up.
Now, let’s talk about Adra. Rachel Cook does a fantastic job of playing a modern-day succubus. From legend, these monsters lure impressionable (read: horny) men to their doom via sexy times. Rachel Cook was the perfect choice for this role. Not only is she freaking stunning, but her use of cameras was also absolutely stellar. They were supposed to be intimate one-on-one calls, and it was entirely believable that she was using her own phone for selfies.
I’m not gonna lie; I would not have survived this movie.
While I liked the film's laptop perspective, it was fairly jarring when it switched to more traditional shots. I understand that it was necessary for some of the weirder scenes, but in the second act, they transition a few too many times. The perspective shifts could have been utilized more sparingly to accentuate those odd moments. It didn’t hit the same after the first time, which was a shame.
I’m gonna say it: I wanted Chris to die. He’s the protagonist of this movie, and he’s just annoying. He’s whiny, desperate and his decision-making is suspect at best. He’s been separated from his wife for two weeks. TWO F*CKING WEEKS! And he’s on dating sites? For heck’s sake, his baby, who can’t be older than six months old, is upstairs asleep, and this guy can’t help but try to get his freak on? Douche.
Lastly, the use of nudity was a little over the top. R.J. Daniel Hanna said in the Grimmfest Q&A that it was a choice to use male nudity to depict their vulnerability in the face of a powerful succubus, and that was a great decision. My issue was the length (calm down) of those scenes containing full frontal peen shots. They were on the screen for a few seconds too long on each occasion. I dunno, maybe it’s because I’m a dude and this isn’t a problem for folks attracted to men but I do think the shots lingered a little to its detriment.
Succubus is a well-shot reimagining of a classic monster story for the modern age. If one was alive today, how would it prey on its victims? I have to admit, this is a very plausible scenario! Online dating is hell, and this film proves it in an interesting way.
It’s not a perfect movie, having a verging on unlikable protagonist, unnecessary nudity, and some transitions that took me out of the film, but Succubus is really solid. It’s not scary per se, but it’s unnerving at times and held my attention for its 103-minute runtime.
Although it had appearances from Ron Perlman and Rosanna Arquette in smaller roles, they weren’t what made this film watchable. No, that goes to the vibe of the film and the terrifically seductive performance of Rachel Cook. With how I felt about Chris, I was 100% on the succubus’ side.
One final warning: DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE WITH THE PARENTALS.
Trust me. Nobody wants that.
