Love is more than what meets the eye, right?

A Searchlight’s new Hulu thriller, Fresh, offers insights into all the wrongs that can go wrong with dating after a woman named Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) ditches the nuance that comes with dating apps and finds herself stumbling upon a newfound potential lover (Sebastian Stan) during a grocery store run.

The film explores the thin line that the state of the world is when it comes to the dangers, or safety, of dating in the era of social media and the Internet.

“With people who are more Gen Z, it’s funny how meeting someone in person is almost a red flag, whereas it’s the opposite for Gen X,” said director Mimi Cave to S&A. “I kind of like that we were playing with both in the film, but honestly, I think it’s just about making sure that you’re taking care of and watching out for your friends in a lot of ways and making sure that, even though it might seem stupid, the ability to track your friends via your iPhone can actually be safer in moments like this. Our film is not a cautionary tale by any means, I think that we all very much feel that love is real and alive.”

In this case, the film explores the worst-case scenario that could happen when going on what seems like the dream weekend with that dream potential date, but as Cave alludes, it is important to have friends who aren’t afraid to check things out that seem fishy in this new potential landscape.

Dayo Okeniyi serves as one of those friends through Paul, whom he refers to as “a cool bartender that doesn’t want any smoke.”

Despite the fact that he portrays a peripheral character, Okenyi understands the significance that his role provides for representation in the horror space which is traditionally met with Black characters who die within the first few minutes of a film.

Dayo Okeniyi

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