Novocaine (2025) review

The film uses anamorphic lenses, which already gives it that stretched, cinematic look. The color palette also feels very similar to the John Wick films. Neon heavy, contrasty, and stylized. The big twist that Sherry is actually part of the heist works well. It reframes everything that came before and pushes the story into full chaos mode. The blood and prosthetics are really good. Combined with the sound design, it makes the violence cringe worthy in a good way. This film is gross, but intentionally so. What makes it interesting is that the main character doesn’t really fight in a traditional way. Since he can’t feel pain, he uses his condition to his advantage. He turns his weakness into a weapon. Some scenes are genuinely hard to watch. Yung fist fight where he stuffs shattered glass into his hand just to punch harder is nasty. The nail pulling sounds, nakakakilabot sa pandinig. Napapikit talaga ako nung binali niya yung thumb niya gamit ang fire extinguisher para makawala sa handcuffs. The sound of the bone breaking is what really sells it. Jack Quaid is basically ruining his life for a girl again, which at this point feels like a running joke. Nakakatawa yung kailangan pa niyang umarte na nasasaktan kahit wala talaga siyang nararamdaman during the torture scene. That said, the actress playing Sherry, Amber Midthunder, didn’t really work for me. Her performance feels weaker compared to everyone else around her.