10 Recent Horror Films That Didn't Insult Your Intelligence

The accepted definitions of horror might not allow room for this superb film from director Carlo Mirabella-Davis but make no mistake, there is horror here in spades. This is a film about the trauma faced by survivors of domestic abuse, both physical and mental, framed in a body horror psychodrama not unlike the work of Cronenberg himself.

The plot follows Hunter, a Stepford style perfect wife of Richie, the kind of steroid jock we all enjoy seeing Voorhees cleaving in the opening ten minutes of a slasher flick, alas, no such quick comeuppance here. Repressed, vulnerable and cajoled into submission on a daily basis, the cracks begin to show when Hunter develops a compulsion for eating peculiar objects.

What begins with a large marble soon progresses into increasingly dangerous territory, including drawing pins and pieces of metal which not only threaten her life but that of her unborn child.

With an almost Hitchcockian aesthetic, Hunter's perfect existence is presented in blocks of primary colours, the Beverly Hills-like affluence, conservative values and societal stereotypes are perfectly torn apart by the chaos of Hunter's eating disorder.

Its randomness is something that her psycho in-laws are wholly unprepared to deal with in the usual manner; at one point she is assigned a body guard to prevent her from digesting anything else other than what Richie provides, perfectly capturing his level of emotional and physical micro-management.

Uncomfortable, disturbing, relevant and well made, Swallow isn't perfect but it could make you challenge the value of what you're being fed everyday.