Warner Bros., out now

A story of first love between a young couple learning how to survive on the margins of society as they embark on a thousand-mile odyssey which takes them through the back roads, hidden passages and trap doors of Ronald Reagan’s America.

While the marketing campaign for Luca Guadagnino’s (Suspiria 2018, Call Me By Your Name) horror/ love story/ road trip movie was understandably coy about the exact subject matter, for fear off putting off potential cinemagoers, I feel safe in revealing something that’s shared within the first ten minutes – this is a film about fine young cannibals.

This is a beautiful film and never pulls its punches when it comes to moments of feeding, but neither is it so gory and graphic that it’s too hard to watch. Maren (an excellent Taylor Russell) and her father are drifters, moving from town to town whenever her dietary preferences come to light. It’s typically the degloving of a digit or a toothsome love bite, but eventually her father leaves the 18-year-old to her to own devices.

She’s soon sniffed out by fellow ‘eater’ Sully (a disturbing turn from Mark Rylance), who tells her that he only eats those who have died naturally. We suspect otherwise. And then half an hour in, Maren meets Lee (Timothée Chalamet), and the two of them go on the run, killing when needed.

It’s a fusion of Natural Born Killers and Badlands, while the underground society of killers has echoes of Doctor Sleep and Near Dark. Arguably it could be trimmed of 20 minutes and be a better movie, but it’s such a sumptuous picture that you don’t resent the time spent admiring the vistas.

Currently an HMV exclusive, the home release includes around ten minutes of standard behind-the-scenes footage and interviews.

Verdict: Not to everyone’s taste, this adult love story is far better than you might imagine, daring to tackle a taboo subject. 8/10

Nick Joy