Eye For Film: Body Blow Review

Reviewed by: Jennie Kermode

★★★★☆

“I am in control of this thing between my legs. This cock does not rule me. I rule it.”

Aiden (Tim Pocock) repeats this mantra to himself at times of weakness. Long before the gets into the trouble that is the film’s focus, he is a troubled man. We see him working out, pushing himself as if the point were punishment, whilst listening to inspirational audio about the power of the penis, of the yin, of the seminal fluids – “it is death, it is destruction, it is more powerful than the sun.” It is certainly destructive to him. We see him overwhelmed by the desire to masturbate whilst driving through a tunnel to work. A cock cage helps, but the displaced desire has to go somewhere. He is constantly on the verge of boiling over.

Colleagues know that Aiden is gay, though he doesn’t identify with that label, and winces when pink-haired dyke colleague Steel (Sacha Horler) incites him to join CLAG (Cops Lesbians And Gays). She wants him to blend into the LGBTQ+ community for a job, so persuades him to dress casually and drink alcohol, which he usually avoids. The night ends with him hooking up in an alleyway with pretty young twink Cody (Tom Rodgers). There’s obvious chemistry between them, but tormented as he is, he can only engage by way of an abusive cop fantasy, which appeals to both of them but is nonetheless dangerous.

Loosely based on real events, Body Blow, which screened as part of Fantastic Fest 2025, combines elements of the Nineties-era erotic thriller with classic film noir, alternating between the lurid neons of Sydney’s clubland and deep, dark shadows. It’s all gorgeously shot, with a fair bit of sexual content but always to a purpose, more interested in mood than in anything explicit. Director Dean Francis` interest is in storytelling, which emerges as much through the performances as the mechanics of the narrative.

Prettiness on its own only goes so far, but Cody is a complicated character, and before long he’s getting under Aiden’s skin. Blackmailed into serving as his minder in a world full of corruption and sleaze, Aiden is caught between the machinations of the local crime lord and the ambitions of Cody himself, which threaten to lead him into an even darker place. Nothing goes quite to plan for anybody, and what began as a series of increasingly bitter moral compromises becomes about survival. All the while, these awkwardly matched individuals may or may not be falling in love.

Immersive and intense, the more so because of its roots in a brutal history of gaybashing by Sydney cops, Body Blow is the sort of all-in atmospheric thriller we don’t see much these days, and definitely worthy of attention.

From: https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/body-blow-2025-film-review-by-jennie-kermode