Sutter Cane’s review published on Letterboxd:
A Hundred Unseen Horrors 2024: #62
I love body horror—hooked from the first frame. A Faustian Bargain is made by an aging starlet looking to recapture her youth in a tour de force of a performance from Demi Moore—a career-best. She's still a knockout. I dug the parallels to her own career. People obsessed over her looks and salary in the '90s. I'm sure that wasn't lost on her when reading this script.
The prosthetics/makeup are award-worthy. The Oscars are a joke if they don't recognize the god-tier work being done here. Boy, Cronenberg's influence is apparent. Where he might go deeper into the psychosexual aspect, here it's viewed with a more satirical lense; it is an intensely erotic and disgusting film. That final reel had me sitting mouth agape. They went THERE.
I also want to say that Margaret Qualley could get me to commit serious criminal offenses. Possibly her best work as well. She and Moore play with the duality of these roles and the juxtaposition of these characters. Oh, and Dennis Quaid chews up the scenery and steals just about every scene he's in. What a vile character, but I ate it up.
Coralie Fargeat continues to impress. I haven't been able to stop thinking about this one. And I can't wait for her next film. Mubi stole this one away from A24 and Neon. I can't believe one of those studios didn't pick this up.
Grade: A-
