By George & Josh Bate
Once in a while, a truly original film comes along. Not the kind of film that has a few novel elements or is extraordinarily well crafted but regurgitates components of previous work. We’re talking about the kind of film that confirms that, after 138 years of cinema history, there are still unreservedly unique viewing experiences to be had and genuinely original movies to fall in love with. And Her Body Was Never Found is one of those movies.
Making its world premiere at SXSW 2026, And Her Body Was Never Found follows Jeff (Polaris Banks) and Keren (Mor Cohen), a couple who trek deep into the wilderness for a get away. Rather than enjoy the beautiful nature they are surrounded by, the couple become consumed by incessant arguments that escalate until they both start to question if they’ll make it out of this excursion alive.
The synopsis of And Her Body Was Never Found is purposefully scant as to avoid the numerous, wildly unexpected directions Polaris Banks’ feature directorial debut heads in. This is a movie that should be experienced knowing as little as possible heading into it as to preserve the sheer shock elicited from every twist and turn of its subversive narrative.
The film begins with on-screen text reading, “This movie was only made by two people” and indeed proceeds to feel like a 75-minute cinematic endeavor from the minds of two people and two people alone. That is not a slight; rather, it highlights the intimacy (and discomfort) Banks and his co-writer, producer, and co-star Mor Cohen are able to solely cultivate.
And Her Body Was Never Found kicks off with a painfully awkward sex scene in which a disinterested Keren reluctantly tries to to please (or appease) her husband Jeff while idling in a creek. The scene immediately clues the viewer into some of the issues the couple have, namely that they communicate in markedly different ways and can seemingly butt heads about the most innocuous of topics.
This spat is just the beginning, however, as the arguments only grow more intense from there. And trust us – never has watching two people argue been so enthralling.
Banks and Cohen, who are a couple in real life, reportedly drew inspiration from actual conflicts they’ve had and even go so far as to re-enact a number of their most traumatic fights for the film. While the psychological toll this must’ve taken on the filmmaking duo is unclear, it nonetheless fosters mesmerizing marital conflict one simply can’t take their eyes off of.
The arguments between Banks and Cohen’s character feel uncannily real. There’s laughs to be had from Banks’ cold and overly logical perspective clash with Cohen’s more grounded and emotional personality, but, beyond the laughs, true captivation awaits. It would be easy to simply tune out of a talky movie like this that simply features two characters arguing one with one another and yet that never, not even for a second, happens.
The duo do an excellent job immersing the viewer into the content and emotions of their arguments. And, like actual arguments you may have with people in real life, it’s easy to lose sight of what the argument is about or how it even started. On numerous occasions, Jeff and Keren become so consumed by their verbal back-and-forth that the point of the argument is lost entirely, both for them and the audience. In turn, we get swept up in the frenzy and dysfunction of their relationship, feeling each character’s frustrations as palpably as they do.
What’s been written so far about And Her Body Was Never Found applies to the whole film, but primarily its first act. That’s because the film suddenly and unexpectedly reinvents itself on a number of occasions. By ‘reinvents itself,’ we don’t mean an unpredictable plot twist or even a pivot in genre. What Banks and Cohen’s film does reinvent itself in the truest sense of the word – it, on a number of occasions, transforms into an entirely different movie than what you were once watching. The fact that the film does this, not once, but several times is a testament to how much Banks and Cohen keep their audience on its toes through plot twists, role reversals, meta layers, and more.
Through the multitude of inventive transformations, And Her Body Was Never Found poses fascinating questions to its viewers. The emotional horrors continue, but now we have to reckon with realizations that fundamentally alter what we’ve seen before and ponder over their implications for the broader story. Banks and Cohen strike a perfect balance between approachability and complexity here as they ensure their film challenges its audience and demands thought from them but never in an overwhelming or convoluted manner. Instead, it takes the viewer on a journey that proves captivating from the get-go and only becomes more mesmerizing as its runtime progresses.
VERDICT: 9/10
Making its world premiere at SXSW 2026, And Her Body Was Never Found serves as a stark reminder that, even after 138 years of cinema history, there are still truly original movies to be enamored by. A movie “only made by two people,” Polaris Banks’ feature directorial debut immerses viewers into a series of uncannily authentic arguments between a couple, which Banks and his real-life romantic and filmmaking partner Mor Cohen drew on their own experiences as a couple to create. The acting is so natural and the exchange of dialogue so seamless that arguably never has watching two people argue been so enthralling. An already intense watch that remarkably retains one’s attention despite being dominated by dialogue and incessant verbal spats becomes all the more interesting when it suddenly and unexpectedly transforms into an entirely different movie – not once, but several times. Through plot twists, role reversals, and meta layers, the film continually challenges the audience and fundamentally alters the way in which you perceive events that have previously occurred. The word ‘creative’ doesn’t begin to describe And Her Body Was Never Found, a film that, as of the writing of this article, is by far and away the best movie we’ve seen out of SXSW 2026.