‘Anything That Moves’ Movie Review [Fantasia 2025]: A Hyper-Stylized, Yet Confused Serial Killer Thriller

Photo from Fantasia Film Festival

From Jeff Nelson

Sex work is as much about emotional labor as it is physical. Writer/director Alex Phillips peers into the smoke and mirrors of this relationship under the guise of a Giallo-inspired serial killer flick in Anything That Moves. The sex worker-client relationship dynamic is a fascinating one, but a predictable mystery takes center stage instead. While the film is bursting with retro style, this gritty narrative doesn’t rise to the occasion as a thriller or a dark comedy. 

Liam (Hal Baum) is a Chicago food delivery driver and sex worker. His job is defined by pleasure, delivered in whatever form his clients desire. The cleverly-horny Snaxxx app provides love-hungry people with food and sexual satisfaction at the click of a button. But Liam’s whole life implodes when police suspect him of serial murder after a trail of dead clients leads back to him.

If someone craves a good time, Liam is more than happy to oblige. The movie opens with him performing oral sex on a young woman for her 18th birthday, only for her father to intrude when she slides him a wad of cash. He attracts attention riding his bike from one client to the next in his tight red wrestling singlet. One older regular swoons over him, begging him to stay after the session. Liam isn’t the type, prompting her to reply, “I don’t know if you love anyone, but we love you all the same.” But, is that love just another part of the illusion? He sells an experience, complete with a toupee to hide his baldness.

This story chronicles Liam’s downward spiral into a criminal investigation. Phillips swaps the typical Giallo killer’s black gloves for white ones, but the brief perspective shift from protagonist to murderer doesn’t go anywhere. Unfortunately, the carnage is off-screen, with the detectives finding the bloody aftermath. They dig dollar bills from their skulls, scrawled with vulgar drawings. They believe this to be Liam’s work.

Baum brings authenticity to Liam, a quality that doesn’t reverberate through the rest of the film. Supporting performances, particularly from the detectives tracking the trail of bodies, lean into a different tier of cheesy camp. 

Anything That Moves teases compelling ideas about the mirage of sexuality and serial killer thrills, yet fully commits to neither. Its muddled exploration of sex, love, and fleeting beauty doesn’t compensate for the lack of suspense in this Giallo-inspired slasher. Phillips’ grimy aesthetic matches the erratic tone just right, but the disjointed storytelling undermines both the striking visuals and Baum’s fearless performance.

Rating: 2/5

Anything That Moves played at Fantasia 2025 on July 25th.

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