What would you do if you found a dead girl in an abandoned mental asylum? What if it turned out she wasn't exactly dead? Deadgirl is the story of Rickie and J.T., two high school losers on the slow track to nowhere, that find themselves in that exact situation. The uninvolved, semi-spacey Rickie is talked into ditching school by his best bud J.T., the kind of guy whose future probably holds lots of low-paying shit jobs and short jolts of jail time. They make their way over to the old nuthouse to drink some warm brews, bust out windows, and partake in all the other acts of petty vandalism that teenage boys commit when the dope's all gone and the boredom of a life going nowhere can't be tolerated for another second. Down in the basement, they find a naked woman chained to a gurney and wrapped in plastic. She's dead...or is she? Rickie wants to call the police, but J.T. has other plans of a nowhere near such noble design.To reveal anymore would be to deprive this celluloid powerhouse of its full effect. Deadgirl is Tales from the Darkside tweaked on crystal meth and shoved into the darkest recesses of the male sexual psyche. This cerebral equivalent of a steel-toed kick in the crotch is not for the faint-of-heart or those just looking for a cheap scare. It's coming-of-age tale meets the most dreadful kind of horror story. Not only will it leave your jaw on the floor, but it'll also do what, in this day and age of hackneyed cinematic regurgitations, amounts to the unthinkable - it will leave you asking yourself a fuck ton of questions.
Much like The Girl Next Door posed the question of how far will people go when they're pretty secure in the knowledge that their actions will garner no repercussions, Deadgirl sees that action and ups the ante considerably. How far would you go for your best friend? How far would you go to secure your own happiness, even at the detriment of others? When do you cross the line that makes something totally fucked up become a normal in your life? What are the darkest parts of your heart and soul truly capable of when there's nothing left to keep them in check? It also calls into question male sexuality at its most perverse and horrifying. Those tired old jokes about a woman being a life support system for a cunt have some sort of hateful validity in the eyes of those that perpetuate them , right? And let's face it, if Rickie and J.T. had found a naked man strapped to a gurney, the outcome of their story would have been totally different.
Deadgirl is superb filmmaking on all levels. It's easily the best movie I've seen all year. Trent Haaga deserves special praise for providing such a masterful story that works on so many different levels at once. I'm truly flabbergasted at his boldness and ability. This premise could have backfired a million times over in less capable hands. Shiloh Fernandez is spot on as the somewhat confused and conflicted Rickie, and Noah Segan nails it to the wall as the hyped-up, manipulative J.T.. Both are absolutely believable; you'll probably realize you've known folks just like the characters they so deftly bring to life.
Yeah, I guess this movie is going to offend some people. Maybe even a lot of people. Lazy thinkers will write it off as exploitation, while others will be too uncomfortable with the questions it raises within themselves. Love it or hate it, you won't be forgetting it anytime soon, that's for sure. While those looking for a mindless gore-fest may find it a bit slow-moving at times, Deadgirl packs a vicious punch to those that don't mind having their scares mixed with some substance.
Forget whatever lame plans you had for the weekend, go pick up a copy of Deadgirl immediately. You can thank me later.
Superb DVD job by the folks at Dark Sky Films. The same fine imprint that brought us the ultimate Texas Chainsaw DVD and the Jim VanBebber box set.
Just got a copy, looking forward to this!
ReplyDeleteHuge points for the promo art/cover. So obvious but so well done. Gonna check it out, but would have if you'd posted only that pic.
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