Swallow (2019) the Horror of Control (Review)

A theme of David Cronenberg’s work with horror was the tenet that the human body is far more terrifying than any monster or external violence. His work revolved around the corruption of the human form with all manner of disturbing aberrations. Post-Cronenberg, the concept of body horror has become inanely conjoined with grotesque practical effects and next to nothing of substance. Carlo Mirabella-Davis doesn’t add his name to that tradition with his 2019 film, Swallow. Instead, Mirabella-Davis looks at the real-life ailment of Pica – a psychosomatic condition that causes certain women to develop an irrational hunger during pregnancy for food they’ve never liked or, in extreme cases – coal. Or, to phrase it another way: “body horror”. Swallow is out now from the ever-impressive Second Sight Films.

Hunter Conrad (Haley Bennett) is the newly-wed wife to Richie Conrad (Austin Stowell) – heir apparent with Richie’s dad gifting his son a senior position within his company and a dream home in upstate New York. Zip forward into the future where Hunter is pregnant, and although she will never admit it, the lustre of being married to a “high flier” has worn off. Her new reality is one where she is alone all day, with any notion of her having control over any aspect of her life evaporated. Beyond cooking and cleaning, all she is allowed to do is pick the colour of the drapes. When Hunter and Richie are having a meal with Richie’s parents, Richie’s dad completely steamrollers her story, interrupting her to talk business. During that meal, Hunter notices what has to be one of the best-photographed ice cubes in cinema history (no, not the NWA rapper), eating them, claiming them to be “amazing”. After this meal, she only sees her husband around bedtime or whenever he brings his work buddies home for drinks. Through that neglect, Hunter becomes afflicted with Pica, as she notices small bits and pieces lying around the house, swallowing them. A psychological compulsion escalates towards her ingesting small pins that will have the squeamish peaking through their fingers. And therein lies the drama of Mirabella-Davis’s breakout – Haley Bennett’s character is forever grasping for control in a marriage that sees her as little more than a tool or incubator.

Sorry to report this to those who struggle with films as open as Swallow is about being a metaphor. Unfortunately, this is the only way for this subtext to be incorporated. Even if you adapted the text into another genre, the subject matter is still so broad that this hypothetical alternative would still be “on the nose”. As far as I see it, there is no other way to approach a feminist text than to be direct. There is no other way to talk about the privilege of the upper classes or how they treat those they see as their lessers – you can only show it. There is no other way to show someone struggling to control their own lives and body than to look at the concept of body horror as a real thing, and Pica is just that. It has become increasingly common within the wider film community to look down on the directness of real stories about the social minefields that women have to negotiate. Just as Kitty Green did with her 2019 workplace abuse drama, the Assistant, or Corinna Faith did in her under-rated 2021 horror, the Power.

At the heart of this is Haley Bennett, an actor who before this role mostly appeared as a supporting character with a highlighted early role as one of the core kids in Joe Dante’s [the] Hole (2009), which is to say, this is something of a coming-out party for her. Most of the time, she’s timid, a trait that the rest of the Conrad pack uses as fuel to treat her with no regard. However, there are moments when she breaks out of her psychological box. One such scene is a sex scene that functions much like the sex scene on the stairs from Cronenberg’s History of Violence, to return to him for a moment. This other side of Hunter (Bennett) is grasping for control anywhere she can get it, even if she gets carried away to the point that her husband describes her as “my freak”. Hunter is a character who simultaneously feels blessed, frustrated and belittled by her new family’s treatment. The ultimate irony in one of the final scenes makes Swallow something much more morally grey than meets the eye, too. Throughout all of this, Bennett not only carries the film, but she is also sympathetic to every one of the choices her character makes. I would happily follow her to hell and back; this is her breakout performance – Haley Bennett is one to keep an eye on.

Swallow is a compelling film for Second Sight to pick up, much more “horror adjacent” than their usual selections. That, the directness and maybe even one-dimensional depiction of elitist evil, as well as the grossness of the scenes where Hunter (Bennett) succumbs to Pica, make this a hard sell. A film from the growing wave of compelling realist social horror more fearless and intelligent than A24’s overhyped attempted monopolisation of this type of story.

Second Sight has become fan favourites during the last few years – their limited edition blu-ray releases are unparalleled on these shores. The box art is beautiful, and the still cards contained within (that capture Katelin Arizmendi’s incredible cinematography) are worth the price of admission alone. Second Sight Films are also doing great work with its on-disc extras. There are interviews with all the significant players from Swallow’s cast and crew, with writer-director Carlo Mirabella-Davis getting an hour-long fireside chat (well, stark white room). There’s Mirabella-Davis’s 20-minute short, Knife-Point, on the disc too, which is more curious as an inclusion than a short film. Every piece of material added to this, a release that will surely go under the radar, shows Second Sight give every release the royal treatment.

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THANK YOU FOR READING ROB’S REVIEW OF SWALLOW