72. Piercing; movie review

PIERCING
Cert 18
81 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong bloody violence

It seems to be the week of way-out weirdness at the cinema.
On the same evening that I took in the strangeness of Border came another oddity in the shape of Nicolas Pesce's Piercing.
It stars Christopher Abbott as a young father who has a deep dark desire to kill a prostitute.
Thus, he books a hotel under the premise of a work trip and books a call girl (Mia Wasikowska) for a bondage session which he intends to end in murder.
Piercing's opening gives the impression that it is going to be a 1970s-style B-movie or akin to one of Quentin Tarantino's take-offs.
However, I am finding it impossible to pigeon-hole it because while there are nods to that era and sadistic horrors, it feels more modern and the layer of perverse comedy is quite different from Tarantino's.
From what I could make out, both the potential killer and his victim are warped and care little for their own safety or that of their scheduled sex partner.
And they also like to eat at inappropriate times (you will have to see Piercing to understand that reference).
The action is mainly centred on two rooms and there is as much verbal jousting between the protagonists as there is blood-letting.
Wasikowska rises to the challenge of an unusual role with a terrifying glint in her eye while Abbott's character is not nearly as self-assured as he originally appears.
It all amounts to a dark, strange movie which definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea.
Indeed, it would not usually be my bag but I was rather more engaged than I expected to be.

Reasons to watch: Unusual thriller/horror
Reasons to avoid: The stabbing scene

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: Yes
Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? According to a 2016 report to parliament, it is estimated that around 11% of British men aged 16–74 have paid for sex on at least one occasion (which equates to about 2.3 million individuals.

The final word. Nicolas Pesce: "One of the biggest things that I knew I needed to capture was the book has such a bizarre sense of humor, everything is so emotionally dark but it’s still really fun and playful in the weirdest sort of way." 

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