When Curiosity Turns Carnal: The Strange World of Lick (2024)
Some films arrive quietly; Lick (2024) arrived as a whisper that, somehow, everyone heard. Before Lick’s release, the title sparked a conversation on social media. Was it horror? Erotica? Psychological drama? The trailers teased just enough — flashes of intimacy, fractured mirrors, and the taste of obsession — to make everyone curious. But when the film finally arrived on streaming platforms, it turned out to be something deeper, stranger, and more poetic than what one could expect. Under the sensual exterior, the film grapples with control, vulnerability, and the question of how much of ourselves we surrender in love.
A Story that Tastes of Temptation and Truth
At its core, Lick is the story of Mara (the fearless Clara Rojas), a performance artist working with her body at the intersection of pleasure, shame, and boundaries. Her latest and most extreme piece, “Lick,” blurs the boundaries of exhibition and confession, and inviting a live audience to bear witness to her emotional madness. It is at this point that the rest of the story, and Lick’s obsessive core, begins with Mara’s meeting with Jonas (Adrian Vega), a mysterious photographer who claims to “see her truth.”
Lick transitions from the sensual to the spiritual as the characters’ relationship develops. It’s no longer about touch; it becomes about control. Mara becomes fixated on Jonas’s gaze, and he becomes intoxicated by her submission. Every scene feels like a psychological tug-of-war. By the time the final act arrives, the audience is left wondering not who the victim is but whether love and manipulation are one and the same.
When Reel Mirrors Real: Clara Rojas’s Emotional Rebirth
Clara Rojas from Lick was at the center of the film’s production and lived an emotional journey as fragile as the character she played. She was about to quit acting. She had been getting typecast for small, unchallenging, and romantic roles for years. In an interview she mentioned how Lick, “came to her when she was ready to be brave or quit forever”.
Filming was a nurse she had to undergo emotional and physical stripping. The scenes were choreographed, like dance pieces, in a way that required her to balance trust and a discomforting feeling. Rojas spoke about the loneliness that comes from performing raw material — how terrifying being emotionally naked in front of a camera can feel while also being free. The rawness of her material was form of emotional sublimation. You can see it in the flicker of her expressions. This was most apparent in the pivotal mirror scene when Mara whispers, “If they see me, do I still exist?”
The actress later explained that she did improvise that line — the result of her own struggles with self-worth and invisibility that come from working in the industry. It was, after all, more than acting; it was catharsis.
The Shadow Behind the Lens: Adrian Vega’s Quiet Storm
Vega’s turn as Jonas in Isadora Nunez’s European thriller was certainly a risk, and the performance a challenge. Jonas the character was nothing like the usual villains. He was calm, composed, seductive, and all the more terrifying because of how easily he passed as an everyman. Off-set, Vega was going through the grief of a relationship and was said to have lost much of his boldness. “Use the pain, don’t hide it,” the director commented.
Vega became known for his silence during filming. “He stays in character even during lunch breaks,” a member of the crew posed in jest. It was said he did it for self-preservation, and for good reason. The stark emotional exchanges were so real, and so intense, it was impossible not to have a haunting emotional aftertaste. After an intense scene, a co-star, Clara Rojas, was quoted as saying, “Some days I couldn’t tell if he was acting or really in pain.” It was the hope and the intention of the narrative, for the camera to be witness and instrument.
Behind the Velvet Curtain: Chaos and Vision on Set
Director Isadora Nunez has witnessed her fair share of controversy. Nunez’s previous film, Glass Skin, was acclaimed and banned in several countries for its audacious take on beauty standards. Lick was also controversial — the script was rejected by three production houses before a small independent studio in Madrid decided to take it.
Limited by budget, Lick had fewer opportunities for retakes, and the team had to rely on natural light. This limitation contributed significantly to the film’s unique aesthetic. One cinematographer described the lighting setup as “painting with scarcity”. Lick’s texture is intimate, shadowy, and hyperreal, especially in its documentary-like quality.
Editors reportedly walked out during post production due to “creative disagreements”. This left Nunez much of the film to herself, and her unfiltered control is the most striking factor to Lick’s haunting rhythm — stark cuts, silences that hung for far too long, and other pacing that felt uneven and imprecise.
Themes That Stay on the Tongue
In addition to the erotic surface, Lick also engages with the concepts of identity and consumption. Each “lick” is a symbol of hunger and curiosity, and, in a more profound sense, it embodies the duality of intimacy as it can both heal and destroy. Lick expresses that love isn’t merging as the world wants us to think, but losing, and shows what can happen when you give too much of yourself away.
Mara’s art performance is relevant because of society’s constant self-display and digital self-validation. The blurring of the lines between performance and authenticity makes her desire to be consumed by others all the more relevant.
Nunez’s direction creates discomfort by forcing the audience to grapple with the question of why they are so drawn to the torture disguised as pleasure. This is the uncomfortable reflection that makes Lick more than just a sensual drama: it is a psychological mirorr.
The Noise Beyond the Screen: Fans, Critics, and Controversy
Prior to its release, Lick went viral due to its puzzling marketing strategy and provocative title. The teaser, which consisted of a close-up shot of a woman’s tongue and the words “Taste the truth,’ created a frenzy on social media. The comments consisted equally of memes and speculation.
The audience, however, was polarized after the film’s release. While some praised its “bold” and “revolutionary” ideas, others called it “pretentious art-house erotica.” The film was particularly praised in Asia and Latin America. Younger viewers in those countries resonated with the themes of self-exploration and repression.
During promotional activities, there were hints of strained relations between the leading actors. Although both denied the existence of any discord, they did admit the film “took more out of them than expected.” After ‘Lick’, Rojas took a break from acting, while Vega stated that he would direct his own project — a possible means of reclaiming control after managing such a consuming experience.
When Art Imitates Hunger
Lick (2024) isn’t a film that is easy to watch, nor was it meant to be. It lingers — and not because of its sensuality — but because of the uncommon bravery exhibited by a team that opted for honesty over convenience. Below its provocative surface, the film is about what it takes, the cost of being seen, giving, and surrendering.
Like its title, Lick, it stays on the tongue long after the credits roll. A taste of truth, pain, and everything in between.
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