Matilda Lutz to Star in Body Horror Thriller Increase
Matilda Lutz, who made horror fans sit bolt upright with her blistering performance in Coralie Fargeat’s blood soaked revenge thriller Revenge, is heading back into intense genre territory with the newly announced sci-fi thriller Increase.
As first reported by Variety, Lutz will star alongside Suzanne Clément (Mommy), Holt McCallany (Mindhunter), and Fernanda Urrejola (Cry Macho) in the upcoming feature from director Nicolas Bary.
Described as blending psychological thriller elements with transhumanism and body horror, Increase sounds like it could sit somewhere between Gattaca, Black Swan, and the more human focused side of David Cronenberg’s work. Which, frankly, is enough to make genre fans start rubbing their hands together like villains in a thunderstorm.
Lutz plays Genie, a professional runner whose life changes forever following an unwanted pregnancy and a devastating accident that leaves her without both legs. After receiving technologically advanced prosthetics connected directly to her brain, Genie not only relearns how to walk, but evolves into an elite Paralympic athlete capable of surpassing normal human limitations. As her fame grows, questions begin to emerge over whether the accident was truly accidental at all.
Director Nicolas Bary co-wrote the screenplay with Sheila Erdmann and Mary Noelle Dana, with Bary explaining to Variety that the film explores “the pursuit of human performance pushed to the extreme” and how obsession can slowly consume someone chasing perfection.
For horror fans, Matilda Lutz’s involvement instantly raises interest levels. The Italian actress delivered one of the standout genre performances of the last decade in Revenge from director Coralie Fargeat, who of course later went on to direct The Substance. Released in 2017, Revenge became a major critical success thanks to its savage violence, neon soaked cinematography, and Lutz’s physically demanding lead performance as Jen, a woman left for dead in the desert who fights her way back with increasing fury. It remains one of the defining revenge horror films of modern French extremity inspired cinema, and helped establish Lutz as a genuine genre star rather than simply another scream queen.
Lutz has steadily continued building a strong horror résumé ever since. She recently starred in the survival thriller Red Sonja, the long awaited reboot of the cult fantasy property based on the comic book warrior created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith for Marvel Comics. While Red Sonja leans more toward fantasy action than horror, it once again placed Lutz front and centre in a physically intense lead role requiring grit, toughness, and enough sword swinging to make your shoulders ache just watching it.
She also has several upcoming genre projects on the horizon, including the spider horror film Crawlers, due in cinemas later this year, and the psychosexual horror movie Psyche, which is currently in post production.
Meanwhile, Suzanne Clément brings heavyweight dramatic credentials to Increase. Many will know her best from Xavier Dolan’s acclaimed Mommy, while Holt McCallany has become a familiar face to thriller fans thanks to Netflix’s superb serial killer series Mindhunter. Fernanda Urrejola also joins the cast following appearances in projects including Clint Eastwood’s Cry Macho.
Behind the scenes, the production has assembled a notable creative team. French Paralympic champion Marie-Amélie Le Fur is serving as consultant and technical advisor on the film, helping ground the story’s athletic and prosthetic elements in realism.
Production on Increase is expected to begin in Canada next year.
If all goes to plan, Increase could become one of those rare sci-fi horror thrillers that mixes emotional drama with unsettling body horror in a genuinely thought provoking way. Also, any film involving advanced robotic limbs and possible conspiracies automatically comes with a built in fear that someone’s legs are eventually going to sprint off without them.
And honestly, cinema could always use more of that.
