Infinity Pool Repeats One Of The Most Disturbing Horror Scenes Of 2022

Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool is a surreal body horror experience that repeats one of the most disturbing horror scenes from 2022.

Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool, a unique amalgamation of sci-fi and body horror, pushes the boundaries of discomfort by repeating one of the most disturbing horror scenes from 2022. Following James (Alexander Skarsgård) and his wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman) during their vacation, it examines the effect supreme wealth and subsequent exculpation from criminal activity have on human behavior as James pursues any method to inspire his next novel. Aided by the alluring Gabi (Mia Goth), an ardent fan of his work, James is invited into a world beyond the limits of the exotic resort where sex, substances, and violence all blend together.

After James kills a local man, he’s told that unless he wants to be executed for his crime, he’ll need to let a clone version of himself take the punishment. Infinity Pool avoids a sci-fi mistake by having what the clones represent, rather than the ethics of their creation, be the main focus as James commits more crimes and makes more clones. Eventually, after killing one of his own clones with his bare hands, Gabi feels that James has finally “transformed” into the most authentic version of himself. This leads to one of the most disturbing scenes in the film, influenced by a movie that debuted in 2022.

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Infinity Pool Repeats Barbarian’s Disturbing Breastfeeding Scene

After James has killed his own clone, Gabi exposes her breast for him to take, repeating Barbarian’s highly disturbing breastfeeding scene. In that 2022 horror movie, AJ (Justin Long) travels to his Air BnB after receiving a report of squatters, only to find a young woman named Tess being held captive by a grotesque creature called the Mother underneath the foundation of the house. AJ is also captured as one of her “children,” fed via a bottle of milk and then later, forceful breastfeeding.

What stands as Barbarian’s grossest scene is debatable, but the breastfeeding scene arguably takes high honors because of how unsettling it is to watch an adult male suckle and not an infant, something Infinity Pool seems to also capitalize on. In Infinity Pool, however, James breastfeeds from Gabi of his own free will, the action symbolic of a “rebirth” of sorts. This is in direct contrast to AJ, who like the house’s original owner Frank, is a sexual predator with a history of rape and experiences some of what it’s like to have his body assaulted and violated against his will.

Barbarian’s Scene Is Far More Terrifying, But Infinity Pool’s Is Still Bizarre

While Barbarian’s breastfeeding scene can be seen as more terrifying because of how disgusting the Mother is as a character, Infinity Pool’s scene is still bizarre. Even after all James has been through, he still decides to take her breast, and her nipple looks very different from a typical human female’s. Like Infinity Pool, Barbarian has a lot of horror influences behind its most graphic visuals, and they both focus on turning moments that might otherwise seem like normal interactions (such as the nurturing act of breastfeeding) into deeply troubling sequences.

Infinity Pool highlights the intricacies of human nature, egoism, and identity, particularly with a character like James who behaves differently at the resort than he would at home. The breastfeeding scene is meant to be the capstone of an experience that has fundamentally changed him, suggesting that inside him lurks a violent hedonist. Barbarian’s breastfeeding scene doesn’t change AJ’s character so much as it exposes the selfish egoist he’s been all along and continues to be up until the end. As with the best horror devices, Infinity Pool borrowing Barbarian’s breastfeeding scene effectively turns something innocent into something disturbing in a way that fundamentally challenges audience expectations and conventions.

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