SummaryWhen the girl of his dreams (Amber Midthunder) is kidnapped, everyman Nate (Jack Quaid) turns his inability to feel pain into an unexpected strength in his fight to get her back.
Directed By:Dan Berk, Robert Olsen
Written By:Lars Jacobson
Novocaine
Metascore
Mixed or Average
58
User score
Mixed or Average
6.0
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
58
50% Positive
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
45% Mixed
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
5% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Mar 11, 2025
83
A raucous, non-stop, full-throttle slapstick comedy that makes an episode of The Three Stooges seem like a production of Swan Lake.
Mar 8, 2025
80
It’s a gory, bonkers action-comedy premise anchored by a set of strong performances and a surprisingly poignant meet-cute, making for a wildly memorable action outing.
User score
Mixed or Average
6.0
44% Positive
80 Ratings
80 Ratings
45% Mixed
81 Ratings
81 Ratings
11% Negative
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
Apr 6, 2025
10
Jack Quaid is slowly and surely becoming a household name, and rightfully so. He started off by carving himself a place within the horror genre (to great effect), and now he is turning his attention to the comedy-action genre. Unsurprisingly so, he fits right in and shows off some impressive comedic chops in the titular role. With impeccable comedic timing, and charm for days, Quaid presented a very enjoyable lead who you could easily root for and laugh along with. Novocaine as a whole has a very well-rounded and capable supporting cast who all elevate the material to the highest level of comedy available. Every single action scene in Novocaine was amusing and entertaining. Some of the fight sequences were quite innovative due to the nature of Quaid’s character. His condition meant that each fight got more creative and more over-the-top than the last, which was very funny. I enjoyed some action scenes more than others, but generally speaking I liked them all. Something I wasn’t expecting though was the body horror! This dial is turned to 100 here in Novocaine and it was equal parts shocking and hilarious. I even cringed a bit towards the end which shows how effective it was! The gimmick for Novocaine (the titular character cannot feel any pain) is unique and definitely something I was not familiar with. This premise kept the film feeling fresh and exciting. The editing is another strong point for the film because it is snappy and executed to perfection as to allow both the action and comedy elements to reach their full potential. However, Novocaine is definitely a movie you need to take at face value - I think that’s part of the reason I enjoyed it so much. It’s a fun time at the movies and that’s it! This is where my only real criticism comes in to play: just because Nathan can’t feel any pain, this doesn’t explain how he can survive the copious amount of very serious, and fatal, injuries he endures. If you think about this too much then it starts to bog the film down. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the whacky, hilarious, and even at times, sincere film that is Novocaine. Jack Quaid is a star and proves once again he is more than just a one-trick pony. I’d recommend checking this one out!
Mar 13, 2025
70
Jack Quaid proves yet again that there's always room for a new kind of hero.
May 9, 2025
60
It helps that Quaid is so good at landing every punchline, if not punch. His Nathan may not have any sense of pain, but Quaid gives him a great sense of humour.
Mar 8, 2025
58
The film makes a great case for Quaid as action hero, Midthunder as romantic charmer, and Berk and Olson as being ready to step out of their horror-centric background.
Mar 12, 2025
50
By the end of Novocaine, it’s as if the filmmakers — who have talent, and who are now off and running in a commercial sense — forgot how their movie started: with Quaid and Midthunder getting the material and the screen time needed to hook an audience’s interest, before the jocular sadism commenced in earnest.
Mar 12, 2025
37
Even with a gimmick engineered to orchestrate endless bursts of Looney Tunes-style hyperviolence, “Novocaine” lives up to its name, all right — a tedious action-comedy so numbingly bland, you feel the pain of its 110-minute run time even as its protagonist can’t feel a thing.
Jun 8, 2025
9
The trailer didn’t look appealing at all, yet missing this film would have been a mistake. We had a great time! Action, humor — the perfect movie for a fun afternoon :)
Nov 11, 2025
6
Greetings from Lithuania.
"Novocaine" (2025) has a fun premise - a simple guy who does not feel pain due to Congenital Insensitivity to Pain (CIP) gets involved into John Wick style story. While on paper it sounds fun, this movie is just barely a fun. Its a very generic story and while i liked acting by Jack Quaid i really was sure that i have seen this movie many times before. Because its story is by the bones generic. And with cool premise they didn't done much. Yet this film is very bloody at some points, i haven't expected this level of gore.
Overall, this is a fun film to see on some streaming once, but i doubt you will remember it much of it.
Sep 3, 2025
6
Novocaine is honestly a pretty fun film. Jack Quaid's character, Nate, really abuses himself when he tries to use his disability as a super ability. While the concept is a lot of fun, the execution left me with more to be desired. He really only becomes a "superhero" for a girl and that leads him to go to extremes that is typical everyday lifestyle would have never allowed.
May 23, 2025
3
This film takes a novel premise for a romantic comedy - a guy who can’t feel pain - and turns it into a gorefest that’s a borefest. Our hero has fallen for a girl who is taken hostage during a bank robbery, and he will stop at nothing to save her. The first time the bad guys try to beat him up and he feels no pain… ok, that is satisfying to watch. Wouldn’t we all want to be able to withstand pain in a quest to save the damsel in distress? But this guy is no Superman; he’s more like a hapless Clark Kent. And he keeps walking into situations where bad guys do ever more gory, disgusting things to him. It might not be painful for him, but it was painful for me to watch. After awhile, I started rooting for the bad guys, hoping they would come up with some creative way to put this poor schlub out of his non-feeling but bloody misery, so the film can end.
Production Company:
- Paramount Pictures
- Infrared
- Domain Entertainment (II)
- Safehouse Pictures
- Circle Management + Production
- Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa
- Québec Production Services Tax Credit
Release Date:Mar 14, 2025
Duration:1 h 50 m
Rating:R
Tagline:Nathan Caine can't feel pain.
Awards
Critics Choice Super Awards
• 1 Nomination
Satellite Awards
• 1 Nomination
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 1 Nomination
