“Fresh” came out about four years ago, and went quite viral — and for good reason. It’s a testament to not only the terror-inducing modern dating scene, but also to the dangers of it, especially for women (cis-gendered, or not). 

It also tests the boundaries of Stockholm syndrome, and how far one can push the idea of using cannibalism as a metaphor for love or lust. If you haven’t watched the movie, there are spoilers ahead so be prepared.

The beginning of the movie starts out with Daisy Edgar Jones as Noa, navigating things that almost everyone who has ever been on a dating app, has experienced. The bad one-liners, the seemingly sweet guys who are really just trying to get in your pants, and the terrible first dates – not to mention the abundance of unwanted pictures. 

Then out of nowhere the perfect person appears, aptly portrayed by Sebastian Stan as some guy named Steve, who admittedly totally love bombs Noa. He plays all the right cards, says all the right things, and is a real trustworthy guy… until he takes Noa to his modernized cabin in the woods and drugs her so he can sell her flesh to people who pay the right price.

Now, throughout the centuries, cannibalism has been used as a metaphor for love, lust, jealousy and more. To the point where some can say it’s become a cliché. Nonetheless I think it still rings with some truth. As the movie shows, finding love is messy and gross, and at some points downright disgusting, but what about being in love? It’s the same, is it not? 

Before I lose you, let me explain. To love someone can be to give them little pieces of yourself, your kindness, your rationality, your empathy, the list goes on — and you hope that they do the same for you — that they find interest in the same things you do, like the same music, the same food, or can maybe introduce you to things you never thought that you would try. But to love is also said to have you be consumed by that love for the other person.

“Fresh” depicts this as a case of faux Stockholm syndrome that Noa uses to get closer to her now captor, Steve. She asks him about his preference for consuming human flesh, how he started on his path of becoming a cannibal, and what it tastes like. 

This is obviously straining the metaphor of love being cannibalistic in some sense, but the movie does show us that ideas, feelings like this, have been used through time in literature, physical art, and music.

Think “The Flea” (1633) by John Donne, Francisco Goya’s “Saturn Devouring His Son” (1820-23), “Breezeblocks” by Alt-J, or “Art of War” from Avenoir. NBC’s “Hannibal” is also a great example. Even in the Bible you can find faint traces of this ideology — Christ giving his blood and body, as bread and wine — “The Last Supper” by Leonardo De Vinci.

It’s more poetic in art from a different time, but modern artists still use this as inspiration, gifting us with beautiful works that feel akin to something some of us may have experienced before. I think “Fresh” is a testament to that. Is it romantic? No, absolutely not, and I’m not trying to say that. But it bounces off of the very obvious and grotesque side of this metaphor we use for love.

“Fresh” shows us the dangers of experiencing “love” like that, if you can even call it such. It’s hard not to sound like a pessimist when talking about this, but modern love in particular is especially dangerous. Anyone can hide who they truly are behind a screen.