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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Catherine Bray

Demise review – an enjoyably ludicrous throwback to 90s erotic thrillers

Crystal Hernandez and Carlo Mendez as Fiona and Caleb.
‘It sounds terrible when I say it out loud’ … Crystal Hernandez and Carlo Mendez as Fiona and Caleb. Photograph: Publicity image

Here is a low-budget erotic thriller directed by Yara Estrada Lowe, which recalls both the highs and the lows of the genre’s heyday. As with classics of the genre such as Basic Instinct, Fatal Attraction and The Last Seduction, the plot is one that, if it offered psychological realism, would qualify as a freak tragedy. But since it’s an erotic thriller, it qualifies as a romp.

Husband and wife Caleb and Celine are planning to have a child but, unbeknown to Celine, Caleb has a bit on the side, Fiona. Celine has the worst day of her life when she learns that not only is she herself infertile, but her husband has knocked up his mistress. Caleb subsequently divorces her and goes off to marry his mistress and become the perfect dad. And that’s the beginning of an incredible – in both senses – series of twists and turns too ludicrous and enjoyable to spoil here.

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