Infinity Pool  ★★★½

THE masters of sci-fi horror cinema happen to be a father and his son.

David Cronenberg has dominated this genre mix for nearly half a century and is still delivering, most recently with Crimes of the Future.

Son Brandon has only been directing features for the past 10 years but has already made his own mark.

His latest, Infinity Pool, is almost as good as 2021’s Possessor, based on a first watch.

It’s certainly a trippier film and includes the family’s trademark sudden moments of extreme sex, violence and gore.

A struggling writer and his partner holiday at a coastal resort in the hope the change will help inspire creativity.

They are befriended by another couple, one of whom is a big fan of his most successful book.

The couple talk them into renting a car and going on a day trip outside the guarded compound that houses their resort.

It’s not made entirely clear, but perhaps we are in Eastern Europe.

At their picnic we suddenly see a close-up sex act between two of the characters.

On the return trip there is an accident and somebody is arrested. The story gets incredibly bizarre and increasingly violent and twisted from there.

Cronenberg films aren’t just entertainment; they are also designed to provoke deep thought and intense debate about both the themes examined and the images used.

Infinity Pool is very well acted, anchored by two terrific performances from Alexander Skarsgard and the wonderful Mia Goth.

As usual there is no ribbon-tied, all questions answered ending and frankly it wouldn’t work as well if there was.

Intense, shocking and weird as always.