Jack Quaid stars in the blood-soaked action-comedy Novocaine. Directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, a duo primarily known for their work in horror (Significant Other (2022), Villains (2019)), Novocaine marks their turn into more commercial territory, with somewhat successful results.
Nate (Quaid) is an assistant manager at a cheery San Diego bank with a rare genetic disorder that makes him unable to feel pain. After a first date filled with pie, the girl of his dreams is kidnapped during a bank robbery gone wrong. Now, the seemingly average man must fight his way through a gauntlet of thugs to save her.
Novocaine is not high art, and it knows it. Leaning into the absurdity of its premise, Berk and Olsen use their horror background to craft over-the-top kills and gory action sequences that revel in excess. It’s a movie more concerned with delivering a fun, turn-your-brain-off experience than anything deeper, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
For the second time this year, Jack Quaid leads a pseudo-romance, but unlike Companion, there’s much more sincerity this time. Like much of his work so far, Quaid brings an awkward, everyman charm that makes him easy to root for, even in the film’s most ridiculous moments. Novocaine successfully sells him as an action star, using his large frame (and a lot of fake tattoos) to full effect. Credit to Quaid, too, who holds his own in the film’s many one-on-one hand-to-hand fights.
Beyond the action, Quaid also serves as the film’s best comedic asset. Novocaine features plenty of humorous visual gags, but the best is the gradual deterioration of Caine himself. If your protagonist’s defining trait is that he can’t feel pain, it would be foolish not to explore the absurd limits of what his body can endure—and the film does so in entertaining fashion.
The supporting cast is equally game for the campiness, with Jacob Batalan, Ray Nicholson, and Matt Walsh delivering delightfully exaggerated performances that match the film’s heightened tone. Amber Midthunder plays Sherry, the woman Nate will go through hell for to save. She and Quaid have the difficult task of making their 10-minute date scene convincing enough to justify his relentless pursuit. Somehow, their interactions have a genuine sweetness that sells it. Unfortunately, Midthunder is sidelined for much of the rest of the film, and the romance takes a backseat, leading to an emotional climax that doesn’t feel entirely earned.
At 110 minutes, Novocaine bites off more than it can chew. The first few fights are inventive, but by the third act, it’s mostly repetitive brawls without much difference in the choreography or the framing of the fights. The hyperviolent action eventually loses its shock value, and the filmmakers struggle to craft interesting ways for Quaid’s schlub to fight. It’s all standard hand-to-hand combat with the occasional knife or mace involved.
A tighter script and more inventive action could have elevated it, but as it is, Novocaine is a gleefully absurd action comedy with charm and a pair of directors who clearly love stylized carnage.
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