Fantastic Fest 2025 Review: BODY BLOW (2025)

They don’t make ‘em like they used to, but dammit filmmaker Dean Francis is gonna try. BODY BLOW’s writer/director brings back the erotic thriller with a distinctly Queer bend, immersing audiences into a seedy twisty story of love, betrayal, and cock cages. It’s a truly engaging movie that feels equal parts endearingly familiar and refreshingly new. Not every narrative turn works, though convoluted stories are baked into this subgenre so it’s to be expected, but it’s a rewarding experience that suggests a promising new voice in genre cinema.

Aiden (Tim Pocock) is a promising young cop who recently joined a new detail of the Queer district of Sydney. While trying to navigate these seedy new streets, he encounters Cody (Tom Rodgers), a sex worker who is controlled by local drug runner/pimp/crime boss/drag queen Fat Frankie (Paul Capsis). Aiden, who is trying desperately to control his urges, starts falling for the young man while finding himself getting caught up in the murky politics and gray morality of this new world. With all these machinations afoot, and so much temptation abound, how will Aiden navigate this sordid world and what will be left of his soul in the end?

Writer/director Dean Francis blends so many tropes and filmmakers’ traits into BODY BLOW, but all without ever feeling derivative or stranding viewers in well-worn territory. There are influences like Brian De Palma, Paul Verhoeven, Gregg Araki, and more that swirl into each other to produce a neon-soaked noir whose gray morality is in direct opposition to the colorful images on the screen. BODY BLOW is a throwback to the erotic thriller, especially those of the ‘90s like THE COLOR OF NIGHT or JADE, but its distinctly unique not just thanks to the Queer lens and relationships at its center. You know that the situation is doomed, it IS a noir tale after all, but it’s the journey to seeing how it all comes undone that help makes the story compelling. And while there are a few too many twists in the narrative, and some of the reveals are a bit awkward, it still works thanks largely to the energy of the film and especially the chemistry between the cast.

Pocock and Rodgers are excellent together—a chaotic dynamic that seems like total opposites at first but becomes more similar as the movie progresses. Francis does a brilliant thing by having Aiden be obsessed with manosphere/”no fap” culture, that weird mindset of preserving one’s seed and essence through withholding of pleasure and indulgence. That alone would be an interesting, and sadly immediate, take on the character, but Francis goes even further to see how such thinking overlaps with BDSM mentalities. Through its main characters, BODY BLOW establishes its themes of control versus temptation viscerally and powerfully.

It's also worth noting that BODY BLOW is a very sexy film. Francis doesn’t shy away from incorporating sex scenes, but it always feels pertinent to the plot and characters. These hot moments are extensions of these people, and it’s filmed wonderfully by cinematographer Franc Biffone, creating truly seductive moments of intimacy that are obviously salacious but never gratuitous and again work on deeper levels. Like the best noir stories, BODY BLOW is concerned with more than just intrigue and a body count; there is genuine commentary on these bottled-up emotions and weird controlling mindsets that are so pervasive in society.

BODY BLOW is a welcome return to the sexier days of mysteries. It’s first and foremost a character study (well, a study of two characters, really) but still functions as a pulp tale of corruption and seduction...even if no one is ever really that innocent. Dean Francis crafted a film that may not break into the mainstream, given people’s prudish natures these days, but will absolutely inspire a cult following. It will also hopefully go on to inspire more filmmakers, and Queer artists in general, to dabble in these pastiches while finding their own singular voices as Francis has. BODY BLOW is an impressive feat that blends the familiar with the new that will leave audiences eagerly anticipating the next work from this talented director.