Deadgirl

Directed by:  Marcel Sarmiento & Gadi Harel

Written by:  Trent Haaga

Starring:  Shiloh Fernandez, Noah Segan, Michael Bowen, Candice Accola

Getting away from the mainstream horror genre, I decided to give a film called Deadgirl a try.  I’ve read a few positive reviews online (and a few negative), so I tracked it down and watched it after work last week.  This is a common routine for me, and it’s a gamble whether or not the film turns out to be good.  That’s part of the rush for me; finding an unknown film with a cult following and not reading much more into it.  I find it better to watch a movie that you don’t really know much about, and not letting the trailer show you half of the movie.  That way, nothing gets ruined for you and the movie develops the way it was intended.  While this methodology tends to waste your time every now and then (i.e. Jack Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door), it also brings along some pleasant surprises.

Deadgirl is one of those movies that really doesn’t fit into a certain genre.  The best way I can describe it is being a high school/horror/romantic comedy/zombie flick, in that order.  That’s one thing I really enjoyed about the film, it’s not something I’ve seen before.

The movie follows two loner high school students who stumble upon a mysterious girl while doing one of my favorite past times, skipping class to roam the basement of an abandoned mental hospital.  As they soon find out, the girl cannot die.  Since she is chained to a table, one of them seems to think it would be fun to make her his personal sex slave.  The rational student, Rickie (Shiloh Fernandez), finds what his friend, JT (Noah Segan, Brick), is doing to be insane and obviously wants nothing to do with his activity.  Unfortunately, word spreads about what they have found and their sex-depraved classmates want to see the ‘deadgirl’ for themselves. 

The viewer is put into Rickie’s corner from the start, since he is the lonely romantic who always does the right thing.  He’s the familiar high school kid all of us know well, the one that loved the girl that he couldn’t get.  Being an outcast is all he’s been known to be, and the same goes for JT.  The main difference between the two is that JT was willing to give up trying for the girls he couldn’t get.  He had found his salvation chained to a table in an abandoned basement, and that was good enough for him.  He was happy with her no matter what Rickie said.  In the end, ‘deadgirl’ consumes him and creates a whole new monster.

While this movie does cross some lines, I couldn’t help but enjoy the ride.  The acting was a little sluggish at the start, but everyone ends up putting in a great effort.  Noah Segan is the standout for this movie as JT, but the other actors played their characters superbly as well.  Some questions were left unanswered, like where the girl came from and what she truly is, but I feel that it didn’t really hurt the film.  In fact, a little mystery is great.  Sometimes I don’t like it when everything is spelled out for me.  

While it does have its flaws, I recommend Deadgirl because it is something truly different.  It definitely won’t please everyone; in fact it probably won’t please many.  While it may sound hard to believe, this movie has a lot more under the surface than just people having sex with a dead girl.  I feel sorry for those who don’t take anything more out of this film, since I believe the writers did a great job creating an original story here.  It really questions a humans capabilities and moral standings, but it makes you laugh at the same time.  While there is a strong element of romance involved, I wouldn’t have this movie penciled in for ‘Date Night’ if I were you.  It does contain someone having their penis bitten off and shitting out their insides (sucks to be you).  So there’s that…


Total Score:  6.5/10
Buckets:  2.5/5