I often bemoan the death of the erotic thriller that used to play late night on cable TV including Cinemax After Dark. Now you tune in at midnight and they’re showing boy wizard and superhero flicks. Nothing too shocking or seductive. But there are still people out there who can capture the magic. I’m not sure if writer-director Matthew Freiheit had Shannon Tweed’s cinema in mind when he created Iconic, but the movie has several of the elements of her best films while keeping the action in a modern world. We’re given a character unsure about reality as things around her go to good and extremes. All of this happens as she struggles in the digital age to become Iconic.
Rose (Emma Jade) is an internet influencer whose influence went completely wrong when she plugged a make up that was not safe for humans. The stigma of recommending a “burning” product has made her online appearances a battle with viewers who leave nasty comments. The good part is they’re at least hate watching her and engaging which helps that algorithm. But the constant hate posting is getting to her. One night during a gallery opening, she meets Lily (Serpentine‘s Alyssa Nicole). The two quickly go from flirting to full blown freaky in record time. The two look amazing together on and off the camera. At one point Lily takes Rose to her spicy religious cult that turns into a drug fueled orgy. What does Rose really know about Lily? This is when the paranoia kicks up several notches. There is a stranger in a black hoodie with horns that begins to stalk Rose. Who can it be? Is it Lily or one of Rose’s irate flame posters?
Iconic is a wild and seductive ride as Matthew Freiheit has this film reflects the online nature of Rose’s life. There are times when you feel like you can drop into her DMs with a comment about her behavior on cam. The film is gives us what you want to see when Rose and Lily turn their relationship into sizzling wildness. This is really what you’d want to see during an erotic thriller on cable. When things turn weird, visually the move pivots to make us feel Rose’s anxieties kick up. Iconic lives up to the name as Emma Jade and Alyssa Nicole take their relationship into uncharted emotional and paranoid territory.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The resolution will let you see the details in the influencers lives. The Audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo. You’ll hear the wildness of the party scene. The movie is subtitled in English.
Teaser (1:18) show off the glam game and what it takes to get that online action.
Theatrical (2:27) sets up the influencers at the core of the movie.
Trailer Gallery includes The Bunny Game, The Protos Experiment, Tonight She Comes and Transmission.
Danse Macabre & MVD Visual present Iconic. Directed by Matthew Freiheit. Screenplay by Matthew Freiheit. Starring Emma Jade, Alyssa Anthony, Noor Badash & Roxette Arissa. Running Time: 91 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: July 15, 2025.
