Fantasia International Film Festival 2025 – After the schlocky dose of hallucinogenic horror that is All Jacked Up and Full of Worms, writer/director Alex Phillips returns with his second feature, Anything That Moves. Instead of making people wretch again, Phillips instead offers a steamy second film with a 1970s aesthetic. It’s an erotic thriller that’s playful, incredibly voyeuristic, and, at times, goopy and gory.
The film stars Hal Baum as a bike courier/sex worker named Liam. He doesn’t just deliver food to his clients. Everyone he meets absolutely loves him, and he loves getting them off. Liam certainly has a lot of clients, and the film has plenty of long sequences that show just how much the clients adore Liam and just how much he enjoys giving them pleasure. All sorts of fantasies and sexual encounters are explored in this dark comedy, and we follow the camera through each and every one. Phillips establishes the bonkers tone from the outset. The opening credits feature hand drawn penises in all shapes, positions, and sizes. They’re also juxtaposed with images of money, and this makes sense later. Obviously, this movie isn’t for the prude.
Phillips maintains a 1970s look and feel throughout the tight runtime. He shot the film on 16 mm, and Cue Shop’s original score sounds like something straight out of a 1970s porno. Phillips also included some real adult film stars, such as Nina Hartley and Ginger Lynn Allen. This film will likely make viewers equal parts fascinated and uncomfortable and that’s most likely the point.
There’s also a killer on the loose who stalks Liam and his clients, as well as a bigger conspiracy at play. The killer is often shown in the corner of the frame, holding a knife and rubbing their thumb on dollar bills, just as Liam pleases one client after the next. Phillips keeps the killer’s identity hidden until the last act, and it’s a tough guessing game until that point. While the film doesn’t have the level of gore as All Jacked Up and Full of Worms, it’s still pretty gruesome in parts, especially one capture and torture scene late in the film.
While the feature doesn’t necessarily comment on sex work, it still does a lot of interesting things with form, from the use of 16 mm to the sound, to the way the camera moves through windows and bedrooms during some of the raunchiest scenes. It’s an interesting exploration of voyeurism and a tribute to the 1970s more broadly. Baum, meanwhile, gives a memorable performance. He makes Liam seem innocent, despite all the sex scenes, and somehow, oddly loveable.
Anything That Moves is one erotic dark comedy and thriller that doesn’t hold back. The viewer sees everything, in all its goopy goodness. This is Phillips’ love letter to the 1970s, shot on 16 mm, complete with famous adult film actresses. After this movie, you’ll never look at a sandwich the same way again.
