Johnathon Schaech has been a familiar face of cinema and television since the mid-nineties. In 1995 he broke out with appearances in two very different movies, The Doom Generation and How to Make an American Quilt. Then, in 1996, he starred in Tom Hanks’ directorial debut, That Thing You Do, which once again, was very unlike his previous two projects. Since then Schaech has consistently carved a career out across a variety of genres. His ability to seamlessly transition from one genre to the next made him a perfect addition to the cast of body-swapping, erotic thriller, comedy gore-filled horror, Suitable Flesh.
Directed by Joe Lynch, Suitable Flesh is a modern, gender flipped adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft’s ‘The Thing on the Doorstep.’ Schaech stars as Edward Derby, the husband of Heather Graham’s protagonist, Elizabeth Derby. The story sees Elizabeth and Edward’s lives unravel after Elizabeth gets too close to a young male patient. The young man is possessed by an ancient entity that likes to body hop, and Elizabeth is its next target.
At THN, we have been championing Suitable Flesh since we caught it at TriBeCa in 2023. The film is a loving homage to the late Stuart Gordon, and much like his classic Re-Animator, brings the gore and horny back to horror. Suitable Flesh is the perfect antidote to the disturbing lack of sex and sensuality in movies these days, and most importantly, it is a lot of fun. A perfect film to watch either in a crowd or surrounded by friends, Suitable Flesh is made to be devoured together. Having already been available to purchase digitally, the film now arrives onto horror streaming service, Shudder.
Ahead of the Shudder release, THN were able to speak with Johnathon Schaech about his role in the film, why sex and intimacy are vital to see on screen, and just why people should be checking out his new show, Blue Ridge.
Suitable Flesh will be available to watch on Shudder from 26th January 2024.
