When I arrived at Paracinema Film Festival I collected my tickets from the box office and was talking to the attendant about Peter Strickland.
I had to admit I hadn’t seen his previous effort In Fabric, and she was telling me how she had merchandise based on the film and loved it. This gave me high hopes for Strickland’s latest feature Flux Gourmet.
The first thing to say is that Flux Gourmet is beautifully shot and is quite unlike anything you will watch this year.
It is bitchy, bizarre and truly engrossing as a drama on its own.
Set at an institute devoted to culinary and alimentary performance, a collective finds itself embroiled in power struggles, artistic vendettas and gastrointestinal disorders.
The central performance from Ariane Labed is truly outstanding, and really encapsulates the ego of a performer.
Gwendoline Christie, a mainstay of Strickland is reliable as ever and really goes full tilt into a bizarre performance.
They are ably backed up by Asa Butterfield, who many will recognise from Netflix’s Sex Education.
While nearer to 2 hours, Flux Gourmet is genre cinema at its finest.
I will now be making a point of checking out In Fabric soon.
Bloody Flicks 