PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I’m a big fan of films that keep you guessing what’s real and what isn’t, where you’re not sure quite what’s going on. One of the latest films I’ve seen like this is Iconic.
Read on for my thoughts.
Synopsis
After Rose’s makeup horrendously disfigures another influencer’s face, she faces off with an increasingly disturbed stalker. Upon meeting Lily in a chance circumstance, they fall violently in love as Rose’s life and sanity begins crumbling around her. Their obsession consumes them as Rose falls down a violent rabbit hole of drugs, paranoia, and jealousy until she hits an unimaginable rock bottom.
Iconic was written and directed by Matthew Freiheit. The film stars Emma Jade (Lord of the Street), Alyssa Anthony (Find Your Friends), Dylan Bonansigna, Chris Boudreaux, Noor Dabash, Tom DeSanto, Roxette Arisa Howe, Hannah Lee (Seance: The Summoning), and Frankie Tan.
I really enjoyed the experience of watching Iconic. It’s truly something you experience and not just watch. The film is hallucinatory, leaving you questioning everything you’re seeing and how much of it is real. The way the film is shot, its aesthetic and its gradual descent into darkness felt very reminiscent of Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon, another film I enjoy. The film is shot a lot like a music video, with a lot of montage and trippy sequences. In these aspects Iconic is breathtaking, but is not all beauty. Iconic has a dark underbelly, soaked in paranoia and steeped in vapid beauty culture and tinged with mental illness.
Emma Jade does an excellent job as Rose, an influencer with her own make up line. She’s full of herself, doesn’t take accountability for her mistakes, is a frequent drug user and isn’t the most likable person. She’s dealing with the fallout of a professional scandal when she meets the mysterious Lily, played wonderfully by Alyssa Anthony. They fall head over heels in love and this is when Rose’s life takes a dark turn into paranoia, drug binges, orgies, stalkers and dead cats. Yeah, it gets pretty fucked up. I struggled to figure out what was going on till everything is finally revealed but it’s a hell of a ride.
Final Thoughts
Iconic is a neon soaked descent into decadent and madness. The film is anchored by excellent performances by Emma Jade and Alyssa Anthony. Highly recommended.
