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MOVIE REVIEW
Anything That Moves
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Genre: Erotic Thriller, Horror
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 1h 20m
Director(s): Alex Phillips
Writer(s): Alex Phillips
Cast: Hal Baum, Jiana Nicole, Ginger Lynn Allen, Nina Hartley, Trevor Dawkins, Jack Dunphy, Paul Gordon, Frank V. Ross
Where to Watch: shown at the 2025 Fantasia Film Festival

RAVING REVIEW: There’s a fine line between daring and disorganized, and ANYTHING THAT MOVES spends much of its runtime trying to balance on it. Shot on Super 16mm and drenched in both neon light and bodily fluids, the latest offering from Alex Phillips aims to be provocative, but often ends up tangled in its stylized excess. From the first frame, this is a film that’s designed to challenge your expectations, your comfort zone, and occasionally your patience.

Set in the sweat-drenched streets of Chicago, the film centers on Liam (Hal Baum), a sex worker who navigates the city on bicycle with his girlfriend Thea (Jiana Nicole), delivering not just snacks but intimate experiences to a wide range of clients. It’s an oddly specific premise, but one drawn from the director’s own real-life experiences as a bike courier. Phillips leans into that absurdity, blending porn fantasy with grindhouse grime, and letting his characters operate in a version of Chicago that feels more like a fever dream than any reality-based urban landscape.

The film positions itself as a giallo-inspired erotic thriller, with a series of gruesome murders throwing suspicion directly into Liam’s lap. But as the mystery builds, the structure crumbles. What starts as compelling quickly becomes a jumble of ideas, tones, and scenes that rarely coalesce into a whole. The visual aesthetic is captivating, but it's often the only thing keeping the film from slipping into incoherence. Style over substance isn’t inherently a bad thing, but when the narrative barely holds together, even the most stunning visuals start to feel like empty distractions.

Baum gives a performance that is emotionally wide open, perhaps too much so for the type of character Phillips is writing. There's a sense that Liam is meant to be a symbol of empathy and vulnerability in a city hardened by fear, but the film doesn’t offer enough grounding to make that idea stick. His chemistry with Nicole is evident, but the relationship lacks the tension or intimacy necessary to sell the more dramatic turns the story attempts to take. The actors commit to the material, but they’re often left struggling under scenes that feel more improvised than structured.

That said, the supporting cast brings some unexpected texture. Ginger Lynn Allen and Nina Hartley, both legends of the adult film world, show up in small roles that feel the most grounded. Their presence lends the film credibility in its portrayal of sexuality, and their screen time is utilized effectively. Instead of being exploited for shock value, they offer a kind of confidence and presence.

The score adds another layer of retro love, evoking the 1970s exploitation and giallo film genres with its lush instrumentation. It’s a strong point of the film’s identity, often elevating scenes that otherwise lack that sticking point. The sound design, in general, is immersive, effectively conveying the grime and tension. Editing contributes to the film’s dreamlike quality, but also plays a part in its confusion. Jarring cuts and sudden tonal shifts give the film a surreal rhythm. Still, they also undercut any sense of pacing or escalation.

It’s clear from the director’s statement that this film is meant to be both political and provocative. Phillips talks about intimacy as a form of rebellion and sex work as a bridge to human connection in a divided society. Those are intriguing concepts, but they’re barely explored within the film itself. Instead, the audience is left to sift through a haze and striking images, hoping to find some thread that pulls it all together.

What’s perhaps most frustrating is that there are glimpses of something special here. The aesthetic is fully realized, and Phillips has a voice that doesn’t shy away from the grotesque or the absurd. There are a few moments where the film leans into emotional vulnerability, and those brief instances hint at what this could have been with a tighter narrative and more focus. Unfortunately, those moments are overwhelmed by an avalanche of visual overload, uneven performances, and a script that seems far more interested in provocation than in purpose.

As a follow-up to ALL JACKED UP AND FULL OF WORMS, this film continues Phillips’ interest in characters living on the fringes and the idea of finding connection through taboo. But where WORMS had a sick sense of cohesion and thematic unity, ANYTHING THAT MOVES feels more scattered. It’s as if the film is trying to be too many things at once—an erotic thriller, a murder mystery, a satire, a love story, a social statement—and ends up not fully nailing any of them.

Even with its flaws, the film is hard to dismiss. It’s not boring, and its refusal to play safe is admirable. The low-budget grime, the unpolished performances, and the commitment to analog film stock—all of it—give the film an energy that is hard to fake. For those who crave transgressive cinema and aren’t bothered by a messiness, this could find a cult following. However, for viewers seeking something coherent, satisfying, or emotionally resonant, this one is likely to fall short of expectations.

This is the kind of movie that sparks conversation—whether that’s out of fascination or frustration depends entirely on the viewer. It doesn’t land for everyone, but there’s no denying it takes big swings. For me, it ends up squarely in the middle: not something I hated, not something I loved. Just a chaotic, gutsy experiment that doesn’t quite find its form.

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[photo courtesy of VINEGAR SYNDROME]

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