Netflix adds shocking Alexander Skarsgård horror that turned stomachs

Sometimes, a film just hits you so hard in the face that you can't help but submit to its anarchy. That's certainly true of Infinity Pool, which just got added to Netflix UK. It's a blood-soaked descent into carnage, fronted by Alexander Skarsgård and Mia Goth — right up to a scene in which Skarsgård crawls around on all fours while wearing a collar and lead like a dog. There's also an incredibly in-your-face prosthetic penis.

The movie, which first arrived in cinemas in 2023, is the latest and strangest directorial effort from the mind of Brandon Cronenberg — son of horror legend David Cronenberg. Skarsgård plays struggling novelist James, who is on holiday with his wife at a resort in a fictional nation. He is quickly entranced by fellow holidaymaker Gabi (Goth), who proclaims herself to be a fan of his work.

A day at the beach with Gabi and her husband turns sour when James inadvertently hits and kills a local with his car. He is sentenced to death for his crimes, only to learn that there's a loophole for wealthy foreign visitors. For a large fee, they can have a clone made to take the lethal punishment, but they must watch their own double's execution.

That's already more than enough madness for any movie, but it's only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Infinity Pool. After the execution, James becomes embroiled in Gabi's strange group of hedonistic rich folk, who appear to derive sick pleasure from the consequence-free lifestyle enabled by the lax laws of their favourite destination.

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Cronenberg had to fight for the film's brutality and sexuality to remain, battling with the Motion Picture Association in America over the age rating. The initial cut of the film — and the one that remains in the UK — would have been slapped with an NC-17 rating in the States, meaning few cinemas would even show it. In Britain, Infinity Pool is rated 18 for "strong bloody violence, gore, sex, nudity". Understatement of the century, that one.

Across a back-and-forth process over several months, Cronenberg cut a few seconds from the movie — unsurprisingly, the prosthetic penis was involved — and secured that all-important R certification. “Everything else was essentially tweaks. Trimming the violence here and there and swapping a few shots in the orgy scene," Cronenberg told the New York Times in possibly the most casual use of the phrase "orgy scene" in history.

But the genius of Infinity Pool is that there's far more to it than its onslaught of twisted sex and horrific bloodletting. It's a movie overflowing with themes and a biting satire of how a total lack of consequences can turn the wealthy and the powerful into immoral monsters. With the whims of billionaires shaping our world more than ever, it gets more relevant by the day.

It's also a film about fragile masculinity, with James dragged into this world as a result of his own inadequacies and insecurities. His first encounter with Gabi comes because he's in awe of the fact an attractive young woman could be an adoring fan of his. He's so enamoured with this idea that he never sees the numerous red flags she gives off from the very start.

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There's also an element of cautionary storytelling about technology. The cloning loophole in the law exists only for wealthy Western tourists, rather than ordinary people. Technological advances are not helpful to society unless they can be used for the betterment of everybody, rather than simply consolidating power in the hands of the rich — in this story, literally giving them legal immunity for the worst crimes imaginable.

This might all sound very heavy — and often it is — but Infinity Pool is also a very funny movie, which is something Cronenberg was pleased to see audiences realising during screenings. "It was intentionally hilarious. I was happy we got laughs during the premiere. If we hadn’t gotten laughs, I’d be nervous," he told IndieWire.

Cronenberg added: "That’s just my preferred approach to humour. I can never laugh too hard if the film is winking to me. Straight acting to me in an absurd situations is to my tastes.”

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So, if you're a horror fan or someone who likes a punchy satire, you should definitely add Infinity Pool to your Netflix watchlist. For those with a strong enough disposition to handle its more boundary-pushing, grotesque scenes, this is a rewarding and intriguing tale of morality and its intersection with technology and privilege. There's also a sizeable prosthetic penis, so don't forget that.

Infinity Pool is streaming now on Netflix UK.