Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
Swallowed is about two friends who attempt to traffic an illegal substance by swallowing it before transporting it. Once they reach their destination, things get out of control.
On the night before Ben (Cooper Koch) moves to LA to become an adult film star, he’s out celebrating with his best friend, Dom (Jose Colon). At the end of the night, Dom has to see his sister before bringing Ben home. However, unbeknownst to Ben, the stop also involves picking up some drugs to smuggle across the border. When Ben asks Dom why he took the job, Dom says he wanted to send him off with some extra cash.
When they arrive at Dom’s sister’s house, he pulls in the driveway behind another car. They’re greeted by his sister’s girlfriend, Alice (Jena Malone), who has the drugs wrapped up in small packages. When Alice steps away from the car to take care of some business, Dom follows her and sees his sister asleep in the car in front of them. Alice explains that his sister will be fine, and has Dom go back in his car. When Dom is in the car, she points a gun at him and forces him to swallow the small packets of drugs. Before he can swallow the last packet, Dom sees his sister throwing up and gets out to help her.
With Dom gone, Alice forces Ben to swallow the final packet; and when Dom returns, she gives them instructions on where to go and what to do once they get there. And from here, things go from bad to worse.
Some Thoughts:
Because the horror element is swallowed and must leave the body through the digestive tract, some reviewers have considered this movie to be body horror. I don’t agree. Body horror is when the body changes, is mutilated, or has some psychologically disturbing violation. When I think of body horror, I think of films like The Fly, The Ruins, The Brood, Audition, etc… Swallowed does not fall into this category.
Swallowed does a good job exploring the deep friendship between two men, one gay and the other straight. Both men acknowledge their feelings for each other, and there is some tension that comes and goes because of it, which makes for some interesting viewing. However, their relationship is not enough to carry the film. And although Swallowed is a horror movie, I never felt on edge, worried, or scared. The story is interesting, and Koch and Colon do a good job with their roles, but the story lacks fright and tension.
Halfway through the film Alice introduces Ben and Dom to Rich (Mark Patton), who is her boss. Rich is the main villain, but Patton’s acting is flat and lacks the edge necessary to make the character ominous. Even while waving a gun around, Patton can’t make Rich creepy enough to feel dangerous.
Director Carter Smith adds some ominous music to make up for the lack of tension, but the film has so little sense of danger that it falls flat.
The Final Verdict:
Although Swallowed has an interesting premise and the right horror elements, it lacks frights and suspense.