In Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool (2023), author James Foster (Alexander Skarsgård) is holidaying with his partner Em (Cleopatra Coleman) on the island of Li Tolqa, when he hits and kills a local man while driving back to his resort at night. The next day he is arrested by the authorities and told that the penalty for his crime is death at the hands of his victim’s firstborn son. There’s a loophole, however, reserved for foreign nationals: for a hefty sum, he can have himself cloned and watch the new ‘James’ being executed in his place. He agrees, and the sentence is carried through. Traumatised, Em wants to leave the resort; but James is clearly keen to stay. The experience of seeing himself knifed in the guts has left him weirdly exhilarated. [More here.]