MOVIE NEWS – The hero of what might be the best action-comedy of the year so far, Nathan (Jack Quaid), stands out from the crowd thanks to a rare genetic condition that renders him immune to pain – a handy trait when taking down the gang that kidnaps his girlfriend (Amber Midthunder) during a bank robbery.

Novocaine follows an accidental superhero on a rampage full of violently hilarious scenes, but Nathan’s strange ability also created unexpected challenges for the filmmakers. In one sequence, he plunges his hand into a pot of bubbling oil to grab a gun, ending up with a thoroughly fried hand – which he naturally doesn’t react to. When the gag was first written, the creative team probably didn’t fully consider that Quaid would have to perform the rest of the film with a burned hand, forcing the prosthetics team into overdrive and giving the entire crew something grotesque to look at for the duration of production.

“We didn’t mind reminding viewers from time to time that Nathan accidentally deep-fried his hand – it worked well as a recurring joke,” said co-director Dan Berg in an interview with Collider. “The trouble was a scene where he holds up his phone and the camera gets a close-up of his hand. That turned out to be about ten times more disgusting than we expected.”

Critics seem to agree that Novocaine is a surprising success, with an 80% score on RottenTomatoes. According to Collider’s reviewer Jeff Ewing, it’s best described as a bloody body-horror-action-rom-com hybrid – one with actual heart.

Novocaine – theatrical release: April 17, 2025