Match (2025) Review

The technology of the modern world, and the ways in which it impacts our relationships with each other, has garnered slow but steady attention in the horror genre, with the likes of Unfriended, its silly rip-off Friend Request, and the underappreciated Girl House turning to various forms of social media for inspiration.

The world of dating apps is ripe for the picking, although it feels like a subject that would take a sophisticated director to unpack it in a nuanced way. Match has no such merit, and certainly can’t be accused of being a thought-provoking or intelligent approach to its premise, but for the first hour or so it makes for a fairly inviting man-monster movie before spinning its wheels for the remainder of its runtime.

Paola (Humberly González) goes through a string of bad dates before finding Henry, a handsome young thing who gives excuses as to why she must come to his house for their first date. She seems too smart to fall for such nonsense, but I guess that’s what the ticking of that old biological clock does to ya, especially when your ailing dad is pestering you on the regular about his distinct lack of grandchildren. She rocks up to an expansive house and is met by a disgustingly offputting matriarch played by Dianne Simpson, who leers and coughs all over everything, and seems far too involved in her son’s love life. When her diabolical plan is revealed, the movie descends into the sort of grimy, gross-out fodder that seems like the work of an edgy teenage boy. I’m certainly not averse to grossness, taboo or sexual deviancy in the genre, and God knows horror has got plenty of semi-respectable mileage out of such elements over the decades, but Match feels a little too immature in its approach. You can feel the movie keep looking over at you, as if to say, “Are you outraged yet? Isn’t this freaky?!” It’s not terribly outrageous, but it doesn’t apply the craft or atmosphere I would hope for if it’s going to tread such turf. It would have done well to take a leaf out of Possum’s book, or even some of the rape-and-revenge remakes like Last House on the Left and I Spit on Your Grave.

By the third act, Match is well and truly overstaying its welcome, and doesn’t have much sense of momentum or progress, particularly for Paola, who has a house of horrors to escape from. González gives a pretty strong performance which at times feels too good for the script, and her sincerity is carrying much of the weight. Jacques Adriaanse has a tough job as the monster man, working under heavy costuming and prosthetics, and never having the luxury of standing up straight or moving like a normal person does. He lends enough heart and simplemindedness to the character squarely position the mother as the real villain of the piece.

Things get messy with the introduction of a number of other characters who feel like they’re only there to up the body count. It has its moments of darkly humorous glee, and is not boring to sit through, but there was something about Match that prevented me from really enjoying the viewing experience. At times it reminded me of the truly awful Dolly in its premise and grimy, confined setup, but Match is a much more competently made movie with thought, effort and a sense of its own identity, and some solid performances that elevate it among such contemporaries.

Movie Rating:

Match trailer