Infinity Pool: Brandon Cronenberg sci-fi thriller has been cut down for R rating

Four weeks ago, we heard that Infinity Pool, a new sci-fi thriller from director Brandon Cronenberg, the son of the legendary David Cronenberg, had been slapped with an NC-17 by the ratings board at the Motion Picture Association. The reason given for that rating was “some graphic violence and sexual content”. The ratings announcement came with the note that the makers of Infinity Pool intend to appealed to the Classification and Rating Administration appeals board in an attempt to get the NC-17 turned into an R. And apparently that appeal didn’t go their way, because it has now been announced that Infinity Pool was edited in order to receive an R rating.

The new rating announcement says that Infinity Pool was been rated R for “graphic violence, disturbing material, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and some language.” Which makes it sound even harsher than the NC-17 cut. How do we know the film had to be edited to get this rating? Because of the note: “Re-Rate. Film Edited. Previous NC-17 Rating Voided. Only This Edited Version Is Rated.”

Cronenberg wrote the screenplay for Infinity Pool, as he did for his two previous feature films, Possessor and Antiviral. This time, he’s telling the following story: 

James and Em are young, rich, in love, and on vacation. Their all-inclusive resort boasts island tours and gleaming beaches. But outside of the hotel gates waits something much more dangerous and seductive, beyond the edge of paradise.

Financing for the film came from NEON, Topic Studios, Telefilm Canada, and the Croatian Film Fund. Film Forge’s Karen Harnisch and Andrew Cividino, Elevation Pictures’ Noah Segal and Christina Piovesan, and Rob Cotterill are the producers, with Daniel Kresmery and Jonathan Halperyn co-producing for Hero Squared and Anita Juka doing the same for 4 Film. Skarsgard serves as executive producer alongside NEON’s Tom Quinn, Jeff Deutchman, and Emily Thomas, Topic Studios’ Michael Bloom, Maria Zuckerman, and Ryan Heller, and Celluloid Dreams’ Hengameh Panahi and Charlotte Mickie.

NEON will be releasing Infinity Pool in the United States, while Elevation Pictures is the Canadian distributor.

The film stars Alexander Skarsgard (The Northman, pictured below) and Mia Goth (Pearl).

Are you looking forward to Infinity Pool, and were you a fan of Cronenberg’s previous films? What do you think of the movie being edited to get an R rating? Let us know by leaving a comment below.