Fantastic Fest 2024: ‘Spermageddon’
by Tito W. James
“Directed by Rasmus A. Sivertsen and Tommy Wirkola, Spermageddon takes us on a cheeky journey through the lens of teenage Jens as he clumsily navigates his crush on classmate Lisa. Meanwhile, Simon the semen and his motley crew of sperm embark on the adventure of a lifetime within Jens’s own ballsack.”
An animated musical comedy about anthropomorphic sperm is exactly the kind of unique cinema experience I wanted from Fantastic Fest. Spermageddon is like an R-rated Pixar film with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and a surprising amount of heart. This film is instantly Meme-worthy, sporting bizarre visuals like a talking sperm with a goatee playing the electric guitar.
Even though Spermageddon is a lewd comedy, I feel that the film could be a positive tool for health educators. Talking about “the birds and the bees” is still largely a taboo subject. There’s an unreasonable amount of pressure put on young people who are surrounded by sexually-charged mass media to become sexually active, but have they limited access to sex education– which can vary greatly from state to state.
Spermageddon is the kind of film I wish I’d had in college when me and my peers were still figuring things out. It’s important to humanize sexual development and this film manages to do just that. The film boldly culminates with a musical number devoted to the contraceptive pill. This musical affirmation of a woman’s bodily autonomy received a massive round of applause… in Texas no less. Spermageddon is exactly the kind of film the world needs to see right now!
