Dir. Claire Denis | Now Streaming On: Prime | Rating: 1/5

Space porn! Lord of the Flies in space! Robert Pattison being physically unable to enunciate literally any word in this entire script! Welcome to High Life. 

I watched High Life with my mom, who was thoroughly bothered by this movie. Not because it was scary or disturbing, but because it made no sense, and I have to agree. High Life rehashes the ideas of morality on the brink of destruction and the people we become when faced with our utter demise, but brings nothing new to the table, especially in the sci-fi realm. 

This features a nonlinear storyline, which is further complicated but a clunky script. The dialogue between the characters is bizarre and unnatural – people don’t talk like this, in space or otherwise. It doesn’t help that either the audio design is wonky or Pattinson is struggling in the script, because you can’t understand what the heck he is saying half the film. These factors break down any of the acting prowess across the board. Even Mia Goth, who I’m usually a big fan of, doesn’t shine here. 

The cinematography in this is nice. We have some great shots of space and color blocking. The horror in this film shows the dark aspects of human nature, but doesn’t focus on a lot of pure horror elements in my opinion. The violence is brutal and there is an interesting black hole death sequence, but not much else. 

There is probably something high minded and lofty about this, but it’s overshadowed by some bizarre artificial insemination sex robot storyline. Nothing about this is palatable or worth watching. I wish this review was longer, but nothing much happen for me to even comment on. 

Know Before You Watch: Features nudity, sex, sexual assault, rape, death, blood.