I have been a fan of the zombie genre since I can recall and I thought I saw everything regarding the undead, up until I came across Deadgirl. This movie didn't have much theatrical release, now, I found about this movie by word of mouth. So, after reading some reviews I gave it a try and I was totally blown away, not because of the horror, but because of its deep and disturbing content.
Deadgirl tells the story of two teenage misfits, Rickie (Fernandez) and J.T. (Segan) who decide to skip classes one day and go to an abandoned mental hospital just to have a few drink and trash the place. After a while and few beers, J.T. proposes Richie to explore the basement or the tunnel. There they make the most unusual and shocking discovery that will ultimately change their lives and the ones closest to them. Now, if you are reading this review I am guessing that you have already seen it or you're planning to do so. In that case, I don't want to spoil the story for you.
Concept
For ten year now there has been an array of zombie films that basically follow the same clichés of the George Romero's dead series. However, Deadgirl breaks away from those clichés taking a new and perhaps more disturbing look at the genre, to the extent that it's hard for me to classify it as a zombie movie or a horror movie for that matter. Although there is a zombie in the movie and one might think that the movie centralizes on the Deadgirl, the zombie is just a catalyst of the real story and not the main character per say. It doesn't have armies of zombies taking over the world or a handful of survivors barricading themselves in a shopping mall. It explores deep taboos of society like rape, torture, sadism and necrophilia, which are seen in society without an undead being part of it, she just serves as a twist to the story. It also explores the side effects of obsession and how it is easily confused with love.
Acting and characters
Although this is a low budget film, the acting was phenomenal. Shiloh Fernandez (Rickie) plays a character with moral values, which is shy and insecure, but fails to act when presented with extreme situations. Noah Segan (J.T.) plays in many ways, the antagonist of the story. J.T. is reckless, free spirited, and is the darkest of the two, but for some reason, Rickie wants to be like J.T. and at the same time, struggles to accept actions.
Visual and FX
The director of photography does an excellent job by building the atmospheric and almost nightmarish scenes at the mental hospital, where most of the story takes place. The camera angles are very stylish and not in your face, the lighting is dark and at times bleak serving the purpose of the story. We all know that many zombie films have explicit gore, and Deadgirl is no exception, but in this movie they only show glimpse of gore that only last seconds, but are enough to stay in your mind for days.
Final thoughts
Deadgirl is new, original, dark and disturbing, but even with that it's not a movie for everyone. I found at times hard to see this movie, and not because of the gore, but because of its content. It's a movie that challenges you to think in what if you where caught in that situation, what would you do? Would you do the right thing? People argue that teenagers are not capable of horrendous things. This film reminded me of a movie called "The Girl Next Door" which is based on the true story of Sylvia Likens, where teenage boys abused, raped, and torture her leading to her death. So yes, teenagers are capable of terrible things. Deadgirl is a great film that breaks from traditional.
WARNING: Deadgirl is not for everyone, so I recommend that you not to invite your parents, children, or girlfriend to see this film it is not a date movie!
Deadgirl tells the story of two teenage misfits, Rickie (Fernandez) and J.T. (Segan) who decide to skip classes one day and go to an abandoned mental hospital just to have a few drink and trash the place. After a while and few beers, J.T. proposes Richie to explore the basement or the tunnel. There they make the most unusual and shocking discovery that will ultimately change their lives and the ones closest to them. Now, if you are reading this review I am guessing that you have already seen it or you're planning to do so. In that case, I don't want to spoil the story for you.
Concept
For ten year now there has been an array of zombie films that basically follow the same clichés of the George Romero's dead series. However, Deadgirl breaks away from those clichés taking a new and perhaps more disturbing look at the genre, to the extent that it's hard for me to classify it as a zombie movie or a horror movie for that matter. Although there is a zombie in the movie and one might think that the movie centralizes on the Deadgirl, the zombie is just a catalyst of the real story and not the main character per say. It doesn't have armies of zombies taking over the world or a handful of survivors barricading themselves in a shopping mall. It explores deep taboos of society like rape, torture, sadism and necrophilia, which are seen in society without an undead being part of it, she just serves as a twist to the story. It also explores the side effects of obsession and how it is easily confused with love.
Acting and characters
Although this is a low budget film, the acting was phenomenal. Shiloh Fernandez (Rickie) plays a character with moral values, which is shy and insecure, but fails to act when presented with extreme situations. Noah Segan (J.T.) plays in many ways, the antagonist of the story. J.T. is reckless, free spirited, and is the darkest of the two, but for some reason, Rickie wants to be like J.T. and at the same time, struggles to accept actions.
Visual and FX
The director of photography does an excellent job by building the atmospheric and almost nightmarish scenes at the mental hospital, where most of the story takes place. The camera angles are very stylish and not in your face, the lighting is dark and at times bleak serving the purpose of the story. We all know that many zombie films have explicit gore, and Deadgirl is no exception, but in this movie they only show glimpse of gore that only last seconds, but are enough to stay in your mind for days.
Final thoughts
Deadgirl is new, original, dark and disturbing, but even with that it's not a movie for everyone. I found at times hard to see this movie, and not because of the gore, but because of its content. It's a movie that challenges you to think in what if you where caught in that situation, what would you do? Would you do the right thing? People argue that teenagers are not capable of horrendous things. This film reminded me of a movie called "The Girl Next Door" which is based on the true story of Sylvia Likens, where teenage boys abused, raped, and torture her leading to her death. So yes, teenagers are capable of terrible things. Deadgirl is a great film that breaks from traditional.
WARNING: Deadgirl is not for everyone, so I recommend that you not to invite your parents, children, or girlfriend to see this film it is not a date movie!