‘Novocaine:’ No Pain, All Gain

Directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, “Novocaine” is a goose chase filled with blood, bruises, gashes and more blood. 

Jack Quaid stars as charming everyman Nathan Cain, an assistant bank manager in San Diego. Living with a rare genetic condition called congenital insensitivity to pain, the earnest banker is unable to feel physical harm. 

Bullied and nicknamed “Novocaine” in childhood, Nathan grows up to become an introvert who spends most of his time reading books, tattooing himself and playing video games. 

Nathan’s life takes a turn for the better when his coworker and crush Sherry, played by Amber Midthunder, takes interest in him. She teaches him to be confident and takes him out to try new foods, as he can’t eat solid food in case he bites his tongue off. For once, Nathan stops tiptoeing around his own life — finally being happy. 

But his newfound love is shaken when three armed robbers break into the bank the couple work at. In an intense tonal shakeup, the robbers take Sherry as a hostage and escape into the city. With the love of his life in danger, Nathan shifts from a local bank teller to a full-fledged superhero, ready to do whatever it takes to get Sherry back. 

“Novocaine” turns from a lighthearted romantic comedy into an engaging scavenger hunt for Sherry brimming with thrilling car chases and brutally inventive fistfights in which Nathan retools his condition — something which had always been a hindrance — to get a bleeding upper hand on combatants. 

Nathan never escapes the fights unscathed, always having to hurt himself to hurt his opponent — even though he can’t feel the pain. The scenes feature a wide variety of gruesome but intelligent maneuvers such as Nathan sticking his hand into an air fryer to grab a gun, pushing an arrow through his legs to skewer a man’s head and smashing his hands into broken glass to make his punches more painful. 

Quaid (“The Boys,” “Scream”) slams headfirst into the role, balancing the slapstick action with the story’s heart and love. Drawing out Nathan’s kindness and joy in the film’s softer moments, Quaid contrasts his character’s newfound love for life with the physicality of a crash dummy.  

Directing duo Berk and Olsen (“Significant Other,” “Villains”) amplify every punch with their camerawork. Explosions and gunshots are visualized through unique zoom-ins on weapons and beat-up faces and bodies, with the suspenseful score that brings the audience right in the middle of the mayhem. 

With the police on his tail after stealing a cop car and killing one of the robbers, Nathan takes the risk of meeting up with his only friend, a video game player named Roscoe, played by Jacob Batalon. 

Their dynamic sheds humor onto the gory situations with clever banter as Roscoe acts as Nathan’s reluctant right-hand man when Nathan gets tailed by the police. 

As Nathan bludgeons himself through the streets of San Diego, the plot thickens when further motivations for Sherry’s abduction are unveiled. The adrenaline rush of a story never quite allows the audience peace, even until the very end. 

“Novocaine” is for those who can stand gruesome scenes and love witty, humorous banter — because this film boldly pulls no punches.  

“Novocaine” comes to theatres March 14.