Being a teen in high school is tough business. Hormones are going wild. Drama between friends is earth-shattering. Picking out the clothes you’re going to wear is a decision that would make Calvin Klein melt into a puddle of anxiety and fear. And the worst part? Your parents, they just don’t understand. Now, if you were to add a threat of your whole body randomly popping like a bloody pimple, you can understand why Mara just can’t take it anymore in the new film, “Spontaneous,” a surprisingly sweet, funny, and horrifically timely teen rom-com.
At a high school in the small town of Covington, a teenage girl explodes in the middle of class. Literally popping like a blood-filled balloon, without warning. As Mara (Katherine Langford) explains in the film’s cold open, that’s just the first of many members of the Senior class that are going to die horrible, gory deaths during the run-time of “Spontaneous.” But thankfully, for Mara, this sudden mortality lesson is enough to shake her entire class into realizing that they have to live each day like it could be their last. You know, since the cause of this spontaneous combustion is unknown, leaving scientists and law enforcement scratching their heads, today could actually be their last.
Enter Dylan (Charlie Plummer). Instead of recoiling in fear, he likens the exploding kids problem to something you might see in a Cronenberg flick. This poorly timed joke creates an instant bond between him and Mara, leading to a whirlwind romance that is just as deep and all-encompassing as any first love between high school kids can be. But how can Mara and Dylan enjoy their new love, prepare for life after graduation, and go out on a real date if there’s this fear of blowing up without warning, potentially right in front of the other?
The early portions of Brian Duffield’s directorial debut, “Spontaneous,” are just as manic and Adderall-enhanced as the teens featured in the film. The tone shifts can be jarring, as the audience is asked to enjoy the lighthearted, quip-filled banter between the two leads, Langford and Plummer, as they laugh at silly jokes about niche films and Richard Nixon text messages in one moment, but then react in horror when someone unexpectedly goes boom. It’s always unexpected. The film doesn’t have jump-scares, more like jump-pops. Bloody, gooey, icky jump-pops.
And though Duffield, who previously wrote films such as “Jane Got a Gun,” “Underwater,” and “The Babysitter” (the latter of which is much closer in tone to “Spontaneous”), does an admirable job both eliciting gasps at shock and horror as well as the joy felt when Mara and Dylan are engaging in their many heartfelt, joyous conversations, it does take a while for you to settle in and understand where he’s going with the film. However, when “Spontaneous” hits its stride, it really works.
Most of the film’s success in both the traumatic, deadly moments and the lovey-dovey romance comes from the incredible chemistry between Langford and Plummer. On their own, the characters are somewhat annoying as they are a bit too self-aware and exceedingly clever for high school seniors, but together, they light up each and every scene, as their dialogue is often so natural and sweet, it’s difficult to discern if it’s scripted or if Duffield just kept the camera on the actors while they just riffed and enjoyed themselves. Without this chemistry, the jokes wouldn’t land and the contrast with the horrific trauma of watching teenagers explode wouldn’t be as troubling and upsetting.
And upsetting is definitely the adjective that should be used to describe the deaths in the film. Duffield doesn’t hold back with the blood, using it to great effect to show the literal (and symbolic) radius of trauma that engulfs everyone witnessing it. The spatter is probably a bit too gratuitous but making each death slightly over-the-top allows for the audience to be taken aback each and every time it happens.
Of course, you can’t watch “Spontaneous” in 2020 without thinking about the current situation we’re currently experiencing in the real world with COVID-19 still being an everyday issue for most people. Watching kids in school being infected with a mystery illness and being forced to quarantine, while the government uses them to test potential cures, is unsettling for a viewer that is currently in the middle of a lockdown or potentially sending children to public school during the pandemic. Though the film was clearly developed and produced before COVID, this seems like an oddly appropriate time for the film to be released. Combined with the not-so-subtle jabs at the current US President, the mistrust between the teens and their authority figures, as well as the overtly “woke” comments about sexuality and empowerment, this film is a fitting addition to this particular, strange moment in time.
By the end of the film, after all the death and gore, the love and heartbreak, and the shockingly prescient political messages, there’s a monologue about hope that feels like it should be shown to just about everyone suffering through 2020. Yes, “Spontaneous” is far from perfect, with its early tonal issues, but over time Brian Duffield’s debut feature reveals itself as a sweet, often funny romance that will tickle your heartstrings as you wipe the blood spatter from your eyes. [B]
“Spontaneous” is in select theaters now and will arrive on VOD on October 6.