Infinity Pool is earning its fair share of praise from critics, earning a positive review score on RottenTomatoes and commonly seeing compliments fly around on social media. However, the commentary surrounding the film is often including its graphic nature. Brandon Cronenberg’s latest horror thrill ride produced an NC-17 cut which was screened for press before an R-rated version of the film is set to be released in theaters. As it turns out, Cronenberg did not change very much of the film to earn an MPAA rating which makes it more suitable for distribution in theaters.
“The R-rated version is as long,” Alexander Skarsgård, who plays struggling author James Foster in Infinity Pool, told ComicBook.com. “There are a couple of frames in the orgy scenes and in the psychedelic, like when they’re doing the icky drug, that have been… But again, it’s a few frames here and there. Brandon loved the, the score of those sequences so much that he just, he didn’t want to shorten it, so he went out and found other really interesting, suggestive weird shots that he replaced it with.” The NC-17 version of Infinity Pool featured extremely tight shots on body parts, violence, and sexual acts which were likely part of what earned the film such a harsh rating.
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As Skarsgård explained, Cronenberg did not remove scenes entirely by any means. He replaced frames and moments with other shots as a means to keep the runtime of the film in a similar, if not the same, place and preserve the musical score as it were. “So, talking to Brandon, it’s not sometimes it’s tough for directors when they have to cut stuff they love and it’s hard. But this is like, talking to Brandon about it now, he feels like there are two, he loves both versions and so it’s not like 10 fantastic minutes were cut from the NC 17 version to get the R-rated in one. “
Infinity Pool follows Skarsgård’s James Foster and Mia Goth’s Gabi on a horrific, sci-fi induced adventure. When Skarsgård’s character finds himself responsible for the death of a local in a country foreign to his own, the local authorities inform him that the punishment for such a crime is execution. However, those who can afford it, can purchase a clone of themselves to have executed instead. This seens James, Gabi, and others down an out-of-control rabbit hole where they lose any fear of consequences in a visceral, violent, and tense tale.
Are you excited for Infinity Pool? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Twitter! Infinity Pool opens in theaters on January 27.
