Fresh Out of Disney's Twisted Kitchen

Oh boy, where do I even start with this movie? Fresh is the latest release on Disney’s more adult streaming service, Star.

I’ve been putting off this movie since it came out a few weeks ago, I just thought it would be another romcom movie, and those aren’t really my thing.

Yet, I kept seeing this movie advertised everywhere, no matter where I went there was always a poster or trailer playing in the background. At this point I couldn’t escape it and decided to bite the bullet and just watch it.

The first thirty minutes are insanely relatable and it’s kind of scary. You’re not even given a quick introduction to our main character Noa, just small context clues as to where she is and what she’s doing.

We find that Noa is looking for love and is about to attend a date she’s less than excited for, especially when she finds out she has to pay for the entire meal before she even arrives. The next few scenes that play out are boring and mundane, every time the guy opens his mouth you want to gauge his eyes with a spoon.

Just the instant turn from a nice guy to a complete jerk is so sudden and for sure many women could relate to.

The movie takes no time in introducing our secondary lead, Sebastian Stan, who plays Steve. He meets Noa at the supermarket late one night and decides to shoot his shot, the two then proceed to go on a date and it leads to a little more very quickly.

Right off the bat I want to say the casting for this movie is amazing, everyone truly shines in their roles and the acting only gets better the further into the movie you get.

I love the intro credits and how it has this sixties almost television static to them, and the music throughout this movie is sometimes twisted but perfect. The soundtrack works well enough that it creates tension when the scene needs or requires it, but also embodies you with this sense of love and that life is a fairytale.

When Steve recommends going on a trip out of town, that’s when the movie turns. You suddenly see a new side to this character that you’ve come to love in a very short period of time. This change feels like it came from nowhere yet the more you think about it the more the signs start to stick out, just like how he says he doesn’t “Eat animal meat.”

The moment everything shifts you feel your heart sink, though I was amused that it took nearly enough thirty minutes before the name of the movie shows up on the screen.

And when Noa awakes she’s just equally confused as the audience. Daisy Edgar-Jones does an amazing performance in this movie, she is the very embodiment of girl power if there were one. You know how she’s feeling because you end up feeling the same way, when she’s scared for her life, you are too and when she’s planning something you feel hopeful and confident.

Supporting cast like Noa’s best friend Mollie also highlight how important it is to tell people where you’re going and what you’re doing when you meet someone new. The obvious advice shown through this movie is really helpful and should be taught to younger girls who sadly may find themselves needing them.

When we get the reveal of who Steve is really, your heart drops, I know mine did. What I originally thought was this cute romcom suddenly turned into a thriller movie about cannibalism that I was not expecting.

And it’s not so much that this movie is particularly gory because it isn’t. Sure, there are splatters of blood and some imagery that I wouldn’t prefer to see on a regular basis, but what this movie is really good at is making you feel uncomfortable.

Every dish served just looks like regular Ol 'animal meat, but with the context given, it makes it much, much worse.

The framing of this movie also makes you feel uncomfortable, with close-ups of people eating and frames where characters have been rotated at an angle. All these little things lead to a big build-up of disgust and guilt.

Particular shots I love are closer to the end, I have such a vivid memory of seeing Sebastian Stan dragging himself down a narrow corridor covered in blood after an unfortunate incident. Or the small rotation of the camera is it pans the basement area where all the girls are kept.

Oh, did I forget to mention that?

Yes, Steve here only likes collecting women because, in I quote, “Women taste nicer.” When his grand plan is revealed, you are disgusted and repulsed, not only by the nature of it but knowing this is real. Things like this happen in real life right under our noses and we’re none the wiser.

It really shines a light on how dark of a world we live in where things like cannibalism just happen.

Steve’s plan is to slowly take bits of the girls to keep the meat fresh, hence the name of the movie. He then sells this meat to the 1% of the 1% along with some personal items of the women killed.

But the real twist comes towards the end of the movie where we find that Steve has been living a double life and actually has a whole other family. When Mollie goes to investigate the disappearance of Noa, it leads her to Steve’s wife.

There’s something off about her, she seemed too innocent. But when Steve comes home and finds Mollie in his house, it’s put out into the open that he knew Noa, all because Mollie rang Noa’s phone which coincidently Steve had on him.

The twist is that Steve’s wife is in on the business and helps him capture Mollie as another victim. It’s then later revealed that Steve’s wife was a previous victim that was able to worm her way into his heart.

But the main meat of the movie, pardon my pun, is the ending. Everything that has happened before in this movie combinates together to create this spectacle of an ending, all the little pieces start coming together in the best way possible.

Mollie, Noah and Penny escape from Steve’s house in the woods, but they’re not safe yet. Steve, who is severely injured, is firing a gun at random and begging Noa to come back with him, accusing her of lying to him and playing with his emotions.

The three girls take Steve on and win, with Noa landing the finishing blow and shooting Steve in the face. Finally, they’re free and leave the woods to call for help, but alas, Noa dropped her phone while fighting Steve and ventured back alone.

This is where she finds Steve’s wife who at first plays innocent but then quickly tries to get revenge for the death of her husband. Just when you think Noa is done for, Mollie comes in with the final save and brutally kills the wife with a shovel.

The two friends fall against a tree, laughing to each other as the song ‘Dance till Your Dead’ plays and the movie ends.

As I said at the beginning, what can I even say about this movie? It somehow disgusted me, yet I want to see it again. I really enjoyed this movie no matter how many times I screamed at the characters to run away.

I don’t particularly like horror or thrillers and I’m definitely not a fan of romcoms, but this movie encapsulates all of that and somehow makes it likeable.

Fresh is a take on the love lives of many young women in today’s world, but it also mixes in the harsh reality of life and how corrupt and bad the world can be.

It not only reinforces the ideas of girl power and strength in numbers but subtly gives great advice on what to do if you somehow ever found yourself in these situations.

Great ideas like using your keys as a weapon, parking in lit and well-populated areas, not talking to strangers at night, checking up on people and their behaviour, making sure if you’re doing something risky or dangerous to always let someone know where you’ll be.

Fresh is a great movie that I will gladly watch again, just not any time soon, I still need to recover from the breast meat scene.

Fresh gets 5 out of 5 creepy men at the supermarkets from me.

Fresh is available on Star, streaming on Disney+