Joe Lynch‘s Suitable Flesh is based on an HP Lovecraft short story, but more than anything this gleefully silly throwback is a tribute to the late Stuart Gordon, whose mid-’80s Lovecraft adaptations Re-Animator and From Beyond remain beloved of horror fans. The film is an unfinished Gordon project resurrected by long-term collaborator, writer Dennis Paoli, and continuing the career renaissance of Barbara Crampton, star of those ’80s gems. Suitable Flesh doesn’t quite reach the heights of gloopy madness as Gordon’s iconic work, but it’s an outre good time by any standards.

Heather Graham is Elizabeth Derby, the kind of psychiatrist that only exists in B-movies. She’s great at her job, but has an unfulfilling home life. She meets a young man (Judah Lewis) whom she assumes has dissociative identity disorder. He claims to be possessed by a demon, and before long he’s seduced Elizabeth, who is in turn inhabited by the louche, horny hell beast. The demon transfers from body to body using some arcane, other-worldly incantation – it is Lovecraft after all – and once taken over three times the host’s soul is lost forever.

As you might expect given the track record of the people involved, Suitable Flesh isn’t interested in the origins of the demons or, let’s be honest, the mechanics of how the possessions work. In the tradition of Re-Animator and From Beyond, Lynch is interested in gross and kinky spectacle, and delivers this in spades with forked tongue wedged fairly in cheek. Barbara Crampton dials into the chaos effortlessly as Elizabeth’s friend and colleague and the ’80s icon is matched by a go-for-broke performance from ’90s favourite Heather Graham. Seizing a leading role by the scruff of the neck, she gets to play terrified, uptight, and rapacious depending on who or what is piloting Elizabeth’s body at any given moment.

As much as it’s an ’80s throwback, Suitable Flesh also recalls the kind of cheesy erotic thriller that was the staple of Channel 5’s Friday night programming in the ’90s. It isn’t quite as gratuitous as Gordon’s films, but it’s difficult not to grin as a possessed Heather Graham grinds away on top of her dumbly delighted husband to the strains of some vintage softcore sax. Is it entirely sex positive as some have claimed, given the possession aspect asks uncomfortable questions about consent? Perhaps not, but filmmakers presenting older actresses as desirable is still nowhere near common enough. And let’s be honest, there’s nothing here remotely as sleazy as Crampton having to endure cunnilingus from a severed head in Re-Animator.

There is also still copious amounts of that lovely, lovely gore which is presented with some neat stylistic flourishes. Using the reverse gear rear-mounted camera on a car dashboard is a particularly clever touch, showing that there is a lot more here than just homage. More than anything, Suitable Flesh is simply a really good time. It’s made by filmmakers who know and love the films that it references, and who have the talent to update the material to the 21st century.

Screening on Shudder from Fri 26 Jan 2024