Preston Barta // Featured Editor
SWALLOWED
Rated R, 94 min.
Director: Carter Smith
Cast: Cooper Koch, Jose Colon, Jena Malone and Mark Patton
Carter Smith’s nerve-frying terror, Swallowed, held its premiere at Fantastic Fest in 2022, and it ended up my personal favorite film at the genre festival in Austin. It’s a tight, well-constructed midnight thriller and love story — about two friends (a very good Cooper Koch and Jose Colon) who, after a drug run went south, must survive a nightmarish series of events.
However, these friends aren’t trying to move the kind of drugs that would excite Tony Montana. No, these “drugs” have a little more…bite to them, and it leads to some supremely satisfying results and one hell of a performance from Mark Patton (Scream, Queen!) as a backwoods crime lord.
On the horror podcast My Bloody Podcast, I joined High-Def Digest film critic Bryan Kluger to discuss Swallowed in more depth. So, pull up a chair and listen in, as we talk about why you should not let this one sneak past you.
Enjoy, and stay tuned for Fresh Fiction‘s video interviews with the cast and director next week!
