Review: Novocaine

Posted by: Matthew Ardill  •  March 9, 2025 @ 2:57pm

Filed under: Reviews

How to describe Novocaine... if I had to reduce it to its bare minimum, I'd have to say a slapstick gore fest of the highest order. The core premise is Nate Caine (Jack Quaid) has a neurological disorder where he can't feel pain and was subsequently sequestered by his parents who did everything they could to shelter him from the big bad world outside. Years later, he's working at a bank, meets the girl of his dreams (Sherry, played by Amber Midthunder) who gets kidnapped, and he embarks on a no-holds-barred journey to get her back.

You may feel like you've seen something like this before and you may have – it's basically the core conceit of Kickass. But while Kickass is a pure power fantasy, something an angry teen would imagine for themselves, the difference is this is grounded in an emotional reality that is far more realistic than Kickass' vigilantism. Nate takes precautions like protecting himself from sharp edges of desks or limiting how hot he can turn up the shower. When he takes a hit, he doesn't bounce up like nothing happened; he is staggered and falls, but once he regains his composure he just keeps going.

That said, being grounded doesn't keep it from being over the top in many ways. Watching the trailer, you get a taste for the absolute mind-boggling stunts, effects, and yes, gore. There were times when I had to tell my fellow filmgoer when they could look and in fact sometimes when I covered my eyes. It was carrying the premise to the absolute furthest extreme, but tottered back and forth on the line of too far.

To balance this tightrope walk of violence, directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen (Significant Other, Villains) made sure these characters were actually people you liked. Where Kickass was full of psychopaths who justified their acts as being for "the greater good", in Novocaine, Nate is a person who is hoping to help a person he loves and stops to help others along the way.

Jack Quaid is just someone who exudes an air of niceness: a broad smile, a gentle and approachable energy, but a kind of high-strung anxiety under the surface of the performance that a lot of people can relate to. We all feel like we're going to screw up somehow, and Jack's Nate brings that vibe to the screen. In many ways Nate has a lot in common with Jack's portrayal of Boimler in both the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks and the live action crossover with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. There's a boyishness that is simply charming and reminds me of Martin Short's Jack Putter from 1987's Innerspace (a film starring Jack's father). You can't help but root for this guy like we all were cheering on Martin Short's Jack.

Along with Jack, we have Amber Midthunder (Avatar: The Last Air Bender, Prey) playing the object of his affections, but far from a simple two-dimensional trope, we get to spend some time with her before things go sideways. We're introduced to a person who has experienced trauma and is trying to find their path forward through it. This creates a darling chemistry between her Sherry – who feels pain to remind herself she's alive – and Jack's Nate – who never ate a bite of solid food for fear of hurting himself – which leaves you rooting for them.

In addition to the two leads, we have Jacob Batalon (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Betty Gabriel (Get Out), UCB's very own Matt Walsh, and Craig Jackson (Black Sail) all crossing in and out of Sherry and Jack's journey through this story. They all flesh out the world while driving the story forward and allowing Jack and Amber's characters different forces to bounce off and show their inner qualities.

Meanwhile, the big bad of the film is a group of bank robbers led by Ray Nicholson (yes, another son of a famous actor, this time Jack Nicholson). Ray, who was recently in Smile 2, is amazing. He brings a menace to the film that is truly terrifying in its unhinged nature, but never strays too far into cartoonish villainy and is uniquely his own.

I have to say I was delightfully surprised by the film. I had a fondness for many of the cast going in, but the premise felt a bit silly and familiar. In the end, we get a love story that tries its best to be light hearted, touching, and full of splatter punk gore all at the same time – and shockingly pulls it off.

Tags: Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, Novocaine, Dan Berk, Robert Olsen, Gore, Heist, Action, Paramount Pictures

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