There’s a specific cruelty to modern dating, a seemingly unending grind of gut-punching disappointment and hurt, something that’s easily judged and lampooned by those no longer in the game but something that’s really only understood by those still playing. In first-time director Mimi Cave’s rattling debut Fresh, Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is exhausted. In a believably odious first scene first date, she’s informed by her indoor scarf-wearing match that women are no longer as feminine as they should be, in all these comfy over-sized clothes, as he monologues to her about his passion for hot sauce. She leaves with a familiar eye-roll forced back to swiping for love but instead, being met with more unsolicited indecent pics. It’s enough to make even the most romantic of romantics admit defeat.

When she meets Steve (Sebastian Stan) in the fresh produce aisle of the local supermarket, she’s caught off-guard by his charm, a handsome, keen and emotionally available stranger who talks as much as he listens. They begin dating and while her best friend Molly (Jojo T Gibbs) is alarmed by his lack of social media presence – a red flag in the 2020s, surely? – Noa allows herself to slowly believe that maybe she’s finally getting what she deserves.

Steve surprises her with a weekend away but first, with traffic shifting their journey to morning, she’ll get to see his place for the first time. Remote and expansive, she can’t believe her luck. But after a few sips of an old-fashioned, Noa starts to feel woozy. Before she has time to process, it’s lights out and that’s just the first in a series of nasty surprises.

The believable meet-cute first act takes place entirely, audaciously, before the opening credits, a sweet 30-minute romcom that quickly switches up to reveal something sour, like biting into a succulent peach that’s rotten on the inside.

While Fresh can be easily filed a part of the boom in “social thrillers”, it’s one of the few that manages to grip us without the use of a heavy hand. So, for those who like their dating movies with a bit of gristle, Fresh is a perfect match.