Suitable Flesh is gleefully sordid, proudly sleazy adaptation of an HP Lovecraft short that I haven’t read. It also feels like a bit of a wink to Re-Animator (and was produced by, and co-stars, Barbara Crampton) even if the plot and themes are very different.

The flick stars Heather Graham as a psychiatrist who is visited by a disturbed young man… who mid-session changes personality. She soon realizes this body snatcher has its sights set on her.

It’s a body swap movie that swaps bodies as often and as fast as it can. It’s a game of Thee-Card Monty where we have to keep our eyes on who each actor is embodying at any given time. It’s fun and energetic, playfully ghoulish and craven too. The flick knows exactly what it’s doing and is having fun doing it.

It’s also bluntly and satisfyingly gory… though it doesn’t splatter blood with abandon. The movie opens from the POV of a body bag and a morgue technician noting there’s not much left… but we don’t see the gory details until much later. I appreciate the restraint… and I appreciate more the abandon when restraint goes bye-bye.

Less restraint, however, is shown with how horny the movie is. The body snatcher is having fun as it purrs and slinks around with its borrowed nubile bodies. It might even be hornier than the sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll alien in The Hidden (also a champion body snatcher).

While the film stock looks a little flat, its use of wildly inventive camerawork is not. It abounds with neat and creative shots, some of which I’ve never seen before. There’s one late in the film that frames perfectly a car’s backup camera in a delightfully depraved and artful way.

This flick is proudly in very bad taste so approach with caution (it won’t be for everyone). I appreciated their desire to knowingly make throwback direct-to-video sleaze. They understood the assignment and cheated their way to a solid B (film).

Score: 82