Flux Gourmet Trailer: Sound Effects And Gastrointestinal Disorders Come Together

Peter Strickland is back with yet-another twisted horror drenched in class-conscious dark humor, this time about a dubious "art collective" diving into the world of gastronomy. Another trailer for Strickland's latest indie horror, "Flux Gourmet" just dropped, and the film seems to be as wild as any Strickland canvas, filled with absurd aspirations in an alternate universe of sorts, wherein a chunk of the character's career goals revolve around the poetics and politics of food.

The trailer, while centered on food, is not appetizing at all, but you can check out the sensory overload that unfurls below.

"Flux Gourmet" seems to be a spiritual sequel to "Berberian Sound Studio," as both films delve into horror elements derived through the process of creating sound effects. While "Berberian Sound Studio" follows a sound engineer who ends up working on an Italian giallo film (which leads to terrifying sequences and the crumbling of reality), "Flux Gourmet" zeroes in on an art collective who are devoted to creating sonic performances via culinary means.

This, of course, means artistic differences, the risk of being pretentious to the point of being overly comical, and power tussles between the characters who wish to claim the spotlight for their own. The trailer also introduces Stones (Makis Papadimitriou), the artistic-culinary institute's archive recorder, who has to deal with increasingly inconvenient gastrointestinal problems, including flatulence. While I'm unsure how that narrative thread ties into the film as a whole, "Flux Gourmet" seems to be having a blast with its oddball storyline, where anything and everything is possible.

Moreover, the art collective in question are more performance artists than culinary experts, as they create music via the various sounds food makes (meat sizzling on a pan, the sound of a smoothie mixer, you get the gist). "I like making sounds," says Asa Butterfield's Billy Rubin, who seems obsessed with making history via his sonic efforts and writing a memoir about his experiences someday.

Along with Butterfield and Papadimitriou, the dark comedy-horror stars Gwendoline Christie, Ariane Labed, Fatma Mohamed, Leo Bill, and Richard Bremmer.

Here's the official synopsis of the film:

A sonic collective who can't decide on a name takes up a residency at an institute devoted to culinary and alimentary performance. The members Elle di Elle, Billy Rubin and Lamina Propria are caught up in their own power struggles, only their dysfunctional dynamic is furthermore exacerbated when they have to answer to the institute's head, Jan Stevens. With the various rivalries unfolding, Stones, the Institute's 'dossierge' has to privately endure increasingly fraught stomach problems whilst documenting the collective's activities. Upon hearing of Stones's visits to the gastroenterologist, Dr Glock, Elle coerces him into her performances in a desperate bid for authenticity. The reluctant Stones puts up with the collective's plans to use his condition for their art whilst Jan Stevens goes to war with Elle over creative differences.

"Flux Gourmet" does not have a release date attached to it yet, but it will be distributed by IFC Films.