Spontaneous (2020) | Film Review

What would you do if all of your friends began to spontaneously explode?

Brian Duffield (The Babysitter) wastes no time in kicking his directorial debut off with a literal bang, as Mara Carlyle (Katherine Langford) is shaken by a harrowing trend amongst her fellow high school students: spontaneous combustion. Yet, instead of a typical gore fest centered around a desperate need to conquer an alien invasion or a vast government conspiracy, Spontaneous utilizes its explosive subject matter to deliver a coming-of-age love story told during the final stages of high school. This is not your average teenage rom-com.

It’s Mara’s senior year and life has devolved into the mundane. Numb to the antics of her friends, Mara immunizes herself to adulthood by wading into the waters of sardonic contemplation accompanied by her best friend, Tess (Haley Law). When the bodies of fellow students begin to literally pop like blood-soaked water balloons, Mara is forced to open herself up to the concept of emotion, eventually allowing Dylan (Charlie Plummer) – a lovable goof with a puppy dog crush – into both her life and her heart. Spontaneous then follows as Mara learns to cope with both love and the detonation of her friends as she rapidly careens towards her uncertain future following graduation day.

Katherine Langford has handled teenage angst before in the notable 13 Reasons Why, but Mara is cut far from the same cloth as Hannah Baker. Mara chastises the world she lives in, but she never wants to leave it. She prefers to function as society’s narrator, seemingly oblivious to the horror surrounding her, while simultaneously terrified of her own mortality as each breath might just be her last.

Mara’s connection to Dylan infuses a renewed appreciation for life and her own future, and Langford deftly sashays between likeable heroine and distasteful cynicism while never forgetting she needs the audience in her corner. Spontaneous is unique in that, despite the kamikaze blood bombs being dropped all around our characters, we continue to invest in Mara’s journey while laughing at her almost nonchalant approach to the compounding insanity. A feat completely attributable to Langford’s enchantingly dominating performance.

Phenomenal in the recent Words on Bathroom Walls, Charlie Plummer has far less to play with here, as Dylan – while instrumental to Mara’s development – ultimately serves as arm candy on Mara’s journey. Regardless, Plummer’s inescapable charm suits him well as he elevates an otherwise rote character, and offers the emotional center both the film and Mara require. Rob Huebel and Piper Perabo as Mara’s parents have as little to do as Haley Law, due to the majority of the film’s focus residing squarely on Mara.

Brian Duffield has shown in previous projects that he refuses to shy away from any plot device, the more outlandish the better. In lesser hands, the bodies of the senior class popping off as if Carrie went on a bender would grow tiresome roughly 15 minutes in without a serious scientific explanation. But Duffield chooses to use this construct as a mere backdrop to propel the life of his heroine as she wrestles with the grief and growth of becoming a young adult. And despite heads popping all over the place, these exercises in sporadic combustibles rarely fail to excitedly surprise. Each and every time someone detonated, there’s an undeniable glee to just hearing that noise, and awaiting the blood spray.

Hilarious, intelligent, dire, and heartfelt; Spontaneous explodes with promise and ultimately delivers. Duffield’s writing shines when matched with Langford’s whimsical glow, and together they have created a bloodier Heathers for the modern age.

Follow our further discussion on Spontaneous via our latest episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast: