Deadgirl: Review By Bryan Yentz

So stop me if you’ve heard this one before: two guys walk into an abandoned asylum, alright? And they find this naked dead girl---but she’s not really dead. And one of the guys turns to the other and says, “Wanna have sex with her? “

Okay, so I’m hearing the acoustics of crickets…

No? Not funny? Guess you must have heard that one before... Anywho…

That’s pretty much the plight here---’m not kidding… Well, I was---but now I’m not.

Treating itself like some disturbed coming-of-age horror flick, Deadgirl presents a morality tale revolving around issues like first love, friendship, betrayal, and morbid wonder---all through the eyes of adolescents. The story begins when two best friends play hooky and venture into a long-forgotten mental institution for some alcohol-infused shenanigans. Delving into the dark bowels of the establishment, the boys find something neither would have expected---a practically catatonic nude woman chained to a table. Now, normally one would most try and help, or contact someone else that can. Instead, the young woman becomes a personified tool of both desire and corruption for the foul wants of the youths. Thankfully, one of the boys has enough logic to actually think about the problems with the situation they’ve placed themselves in, and thus, doesn’t participate in the sexual deviances of the others. As the film chugs along, Rickie (Shiloh Fernandez) becomes the main character with which we as the audience can TRY and relate to. He represents the voice of reason as he produces the questions against the horrific objectivism of the woman, all the while trying to keep his own dark curiosity at bay. He’s a conflicted young man. He wants to do what’s right, but he can’t help the nearly insatiable draw that the possibility of sex has on him---the control he would feel over her; the domination---an absolute lack of commitment. Like his antagonistic friend, she would be a prize unto himself, which no one would know about, nor take from him. This dilemma amps the simple story quite well; there’s no blatant hero, there are only villains, victims, and the confused people caught between.

What furthers the story is the evolution of the vile master-mind behind it all, J.T. (Noah Segan). While he begins the film as a simply immoral sicko, he further juxtaposes his indifferent friend’s logic with a steady turn into quite the compelling evil-doer. He takes his influential mannerisms to higher levels of corruption as he brings others into the sexual fold. He retains a sense of grimy charm, all the while using everyone to his own devious ends. The character progression is well approached, even if it’s nothing new when you think about… Well, ANY coming-of-age film. There’s always an instigator, and there’s always a reluctant friend. Even still, it works here simply because the film is built upon a zombie foundation; a genre which really hasn’t been utilized to tell this sort of serious narrative.

That said, there are a good many issues I had with this little audacious piece of cinema. Firstly, as much as I appreciated the attention placed into developing characters, many of the choices these “kids” make are just ridiculous---even for supposedly naïve teenagers. The decisions they make go beyond anything a child, let alone an adult would ever choose to do. While I understand the emotional aspects that the film tries to illicit as the young characters are coming into early adulthood, there is just no way---NO WAY they would perform some of the acts that they do. ***Possible Spoilers***The woman herself looks like a naked vagabond; dingy and dirt-smudged. It would tough to look at her as anything more than someone in desperate need of a bath, let alone have sex with. Furthering this is some extensive damage done to her body via a gun which emits pus-like fluid from the entry wounds. Somehow seeing this as an opportunity, certain characters choose to use these vomit-inducing holes as lubricated orifices for further pleasure… Really? I mean, who---WHO would do that? Sure, there are psychopathic f*cks in the world, but honestly? No one new to sex would go in thinking, “Well, there’s an opening in the skin there… Might as well use it.” No kid would do that. Both adults and children alike would most likely gag at both the sight and thought of something as repugnant. Instances like that destroy believability in these actors as teenagers. Like the aforementioned point of aberrant behavior, multiple choices regarding what should be done with the Deadgirl seem written just to push the audience’s buttons, which is a shame because Marcel Samiento, Gadi Harel, (directors) and Trent Hagga (writer) have taken such an earnest approach to this matter that these sequences just feel like forcefully crude moments meant for shock. Don’t get me wrong, some of these portions do affect the picture as a whole, but they surpass the point that the scene is trying to make. It seems as though they thought of one way to show a character’s true colors and when that was completed, thought of how to make it more appalling. Again, these cinematic choices tarnish credibility in the cast. And speaking of credibility, my biggest gripe is in the casting. Yes, the actors do quite the commendable job (especially Noah Segan), but why on earth were obvious mid-to-late twenty year old, post-college actors chosen to portray children in their mid teens? I mean, when I first saw the lead characters drinking and smoking with five-o’-clock shadows, I thought I was watching the newest take on college life---not confused adolescents caught in the throes of morality. It’s all apparent right off that bat as Rickie is played by Gossip Girl’s Shiloh Fernandez, and J.T. is portrayed by Brick’s Noah Segan---both actors well into their twenties. There’s no problem with choosing older individuals to portray younger ones, but make sure they can truly look that age. Had the filmmakers chosen to use a younger crowd, I think the film would have turned out differently---possibly even better.

While the film’s believability wanes, so does the plot---mainly because it really doesn’t develop into anything meaningful until the last 30-45 minutes. Thankfully, this last portion is quite the attention-getter as the story takes and builds upon multiple paths to its destructive and quite moving finale. In a gradual eruption of violence, vengeance, sacrifice, friendship and honesty, everything comes full circle in the most gut-punching way possible. The climax and denouement are truly what elevate this movie into the territory that it wanted to be in all along---almost making one forget about all of the other shortcomings and questionable cruelty.

And because I can’t end this review without mentioning it, the direction and cinematography (props to Harris Charalambous) here is just excellent. The bright and hopeful markings of the exterior locations perfectly juxtapose the dark, cracked, murky-green corridors of the asylum. In turn, both environments create vastly different emotions for both the audience and the characters placed within them. There is a point of acceptance and peace in the outdoor light, and an unavoidable sense of depression and loneliness in the dark… Especially when the last bit plays out without the helpful light of day. What strengthens the movie’s atmosphere is Joseph Bauer’s score which depends far more on mood music and themes rather than full-fledged orchestral pieces. It's similar to Akira Yamaoka's work on the Silent Hill series, or some of Clint Mansell's composition for Smokin' Aces.

So is Deadgirl worth the hype it’s so happily received? In some cases yes… Yes, it is… In others no… No, it isn’t. The movie accomplished some great things during its run to the finish by finally putting its interesting premise to good use, but that doesn’t completely excuse the preceding flaws by any means. Deadgirl set the horror world abuzz with its arrival, but it’s not the godsend so many critics would want you to believe it is. If you can handle the subject matter, it’s worth seeing where the story winds up going. For everyone else… Well, I think I lost most of them with the mention of “dead girl” and “sex with”.