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Novocaine introduces us to Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid – Companion), who works in a bank as the assistant manager, trying to look on the bright side of life, despite his only friend being fellow online gamer who he’s never met, Roscoe (Jacob Batalon – Tarot), as well as dealing with the problematic genetic condition such that when he accidentally burns his hand, he never feels the pain.
This also necessitates having to time three hours between toilet breaks, because the lack of pain receptors means he can’t tell when his bladder is full – which must make it quite difficult to get a full night’s sleep!
Nathan also fancies bank clerk Sherry (Amber Midthunder – Opus), but doesn’t have the courage to speak to her other than for basic pleasantries. However, circumstances lead to them having a lunch date at the nearby cafe, where she shares her cherry pie with him… and that’s NOT a euphemism.
But then, the bank’s held up, Sherry’s kidnapped in the melee and Nathan commandeers a cop car to go after them, one leading to an altercation in a chef’s kitchen, as he follows them when they split into different directions, the trailer showing how this leads to the conundrum where the cop gun he’s stolen lands in the fryer, and whether or not he should fish it out. Ewwww!!!
Novocaine has a lot of humour, and is a rare chance to enjoy something that is really good fun throughout, even though it could cut back a few minutes of the running time as it goes to 110 minutes.
It also features lots of gory violence, such as when he’s confronted by one of the baddies, who ties him to a chair, then tries to inflict pain by stabbing him in the leg and twisting it… yes, there’s quite a lot of this surprisingly gory violence, making me wonder how it’s still a 15-certificate!
I also hoped – and while avoid spoilers – although the film’s story comes to a conclusion and it’s clear a follow-up wasn’t planned, I would like them to engineer a sequel out of this.
NOTE: There are no mid- or post-credit scenes.
Novocaine is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD, ahead of its release date TBA.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 110 minutes
Release date: March 28th 2025
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 (X-OCN XT (8K))
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 8/10
Directors: Dan Berk, Robert Olsen
Producers: Adam Friedlander, Joby Harold, Julian Rosenberg, Matt Schwartz, Drew Simon, Sam Speiser, Tory Tunnell
Screenplay: Lars Jacobson
Music: Lorne Balfe, Andrew Kawczynski
Cast:
Nathan Caine: Jack Quaid
Sherry: Amber Midthunder
Simon: Ray Nicholson
Roscoe: Jacob Batalon
Mincy: Betty Gabriel
Coltraine: Matt Walsh
Andre: Conrad Kemp
Ben: Evan Hengst
Nigel: Craig Jackson
Early: Lou Beatty Jr
Zeno: Garth Collins
Asshole: Tristan de Beer
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.