Swallowed is a film that follows two friends who want one big last hurrah before one of them leaves for Los Angeles. What ensues on this night of partying is something that turns the one crazy night sub-genre on its head. The two get entangled in a small-time drug smuggling operation that proves to be not your average illegal transaction.
LGBTQ Shockfest: Swallowed opens with a hypnotic dance number by Cooper Koch, who plays Benjamin. It's established early on that he is a gay man who is about to go off to California and pursue a career as an adult film star. The whole film has LGBTQ themes woven throughout it. Benjamin is accompanied by his friend Dom, played by Jose Colon. It's never said, but there are moments that allude to whether they are more than just friends. Dom decides to send his friend away with a parting gift. A lump sum of cash via a drug deal that Dom was taking part in. His plan is to give his cut of it to Benjamin as a going-away present. The only issue is that the two friends become very big parts of said drug smuggling, as they have to be the ones to swallow these tiny bags of unknown substances and then do what needs to be done to remove them after crossing the border.
Drugs and Bugs: The crime thriller aspect of the plot is a great jumping-off point. Although at times you can feel the budget of the film with the handheld camera shots, the atmosphere is tense in the moments that lead up to the film's inciting incident. The shift from crime thriller to body horror comes when the two realize what they have swallowed is not your ordinary mind-altering substance. Down the wormhole of what feels like a dark, dreadful late night into an early morning journey of wondering if the two can make it out alive. It's simple yet well-crafted with dread by director Carter Smith.
Mark Patton: Since there are LGBTQ themes woven throughout the movie, it is only fitting that you bring in a scream queen who is having quite the renaissance of late, Mark Patton (Nightmare on Elm Street 2, Scream Queen). Mark arrives midway through the film as the boss of the operation. His presence on screen is sinister. His yells of frustration when something doesn't go his way are part funny, part petrifying. Patton and Koch's performances make for a hell of a mental chess match as the film inches closer to its final showdown. Where the film lacks in gore, it makes up for in imagination based on slimy, unsettling sound effects.
Traps you for ninety minutes in an unsettling situation with its two protagonists.
