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Reviews
Deadgirl (2008)
A very different take on our old friend, the humble zombie
I've heard this film mentioned a few times and some positive things about it. I watched it without really knowing anything about it barring a (very) short synopsis on the Horror channel, and it did take me by surprise, I must admit, in a good way though.
The film begins by following two rebellious (and incredibly annoying) high school lads, who opt to skip class one day to go and hang out in a disused asylum, getting drunk, smashing things up, and the like. In looking around, they come across a basement area and bizarrely find a naked girl wrapped in plastic tied to a table. On further inspection, they discover that she is not quite 'alive'. And that's where the fun begins...
Where one of our duo wants to do the right thing i.e. get out, call the police, call an ambulance, the other has more dark ideas in mind. There's a hot, naked girl here and no one (seemingly, anyway) knows about her. What starts as a sexual obsession with the girl then becomes a lot more, with letting other people use her, spending whole days there at a time, and in one quite gruesome suggestion, toying with other orifices to utilise sexually, ones they have created themselves. The film follows the guys as one spirals more and more into deviance with his obsession, and the other being more and more horrified yet unable to act upon it, leading to a great twist.
The concept of the film I think is very original. The acting by and large is good (big hand must go to Jenny Spain, the titular Deadgirl, who spends virtually the entire film being naked and brutalised in some form or another), there are not too many moments of graphic gore but what is there is done well, and the both suggested and visual sexual scenes are quite shocking. The character who spirals out of control gets more and more depraved as the film goes on. At one point, Deadgirl gets beaten to a pulp, so he starts putting make up on her to make her more attractive, a very good (if twisted) touch. Considering this is a low budget movie, I think it was handled well, and the subject matter is something that will certainly make you think.
However, there were some elements of the movie that either didn't make sense or just seemed far too rushed. OK, there is a time and budget limit here, and thankfully being sound of mind myself, I don't know these things, but one of the characters just seemed to go from rebellious teenager to necrophiliac rapist in a matter of seconds. From the first glimpse, the girl is clearly decaying, with blue and green mottled flesh, yet he seemed more than willing to have sex with her. There was no period of contemplation and then giving in to carnal lust eventually. There is also a random dog that keeps popping up in the asylum and menacing anyone who goes near it, but there is no reason for it to be there. Aldo, you have the second of our duo who is repulsed by what he is seeing, but he doesn't actually do anything about it, short of limply trashing his room in one scene, or constantly going back to the basement to talk to his clearly deranged friend, whereas one call to the police would have solved everyone's problems.
That said, I did enjoy the film overall for its originality and its thought provoking nature. It also does not give answers, so if you like everything explained as to why it's occurred, this may leave you wanting (although explaining the point of the damn dog might have been good!). In this case, I think it helped the narrative. We are seeing this story mainly from the perspective of the two college guys. They don't know why she is there, let alone why she is undead, so why should we? The film also uses quick split second imagery and sounds to get the heart rate up too, but these are used sparingly, not overused just for a scare factor.
Not a film I would go out and buy and proudly display it on my DVD shelves, but one I'm glad I caught nonetheless.
Tony (2009)
A truly bleak but brilliant slice of London serial killer life
I've been wanting to see this for a while, but when I saw it on the listings for the Horror channel, I thought it couldn't be too much cop. How wrong I was...
Tony focuses on the disturbing, lonely and bleak existence of, well, Tony, as he wanders aimlessly through life with no goal, direction or ambition. Just another sad case, with a shambling walk, a bad haircut and even worse moustache, the sort of bloke you give a wide berth to as you wonder what he's wearing underneath his long coat, but one that would kill and dismember you as easily as you would peel a banana.
Peter Ferdinano is truly creepy as the main man, from the way he just stares at other people going about their business, to the awkward, stunted conversations he has to endure, through to when he suddenly and explosively reacts with extreme violence. Despite his hopeless and frequently vile existence though, it is almost difficult to not sometimes feel a tiny pang of sympathy for him. He has no job, no friends, lives in a squalid council flat and spends his days watching violent 80's action movies on VHS; he just truly does not know how to interact with other human beings... except when they are no longer living. Tony differs from other serial killer movies though, such as Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. In Henry, he is truly a monster, killing anyone that just happens to take his fancy or just happens to cross his path at the wrong time. With Tony, there is always a provocation of some sort that pushes him to the kill (granted, sometimes very slight), which is a true insight into a certain type of killers mind - able to operate in society at a base level, but unable to cope with rejection or threat (there is one murder in the film that I pretty much guarantee will make you cheer though!).
There is no denying the character here and the similarities with real-life serial killer Dennis Nilsen - the way he keeps corpses in his flat and has conversations with them for example, and the numerous references to 'the drains' and the smell. This all adds to the already realistic tone and pace of the movie, as it's not a case of 'this could happen', it more or less has.
Speaking of realism, one of the strongest points this movie offers is the acting. The lowlifes, scumbags, thugs, druggies and bullies that Tony meets on his wanderings are acted so well, that this is almost the most depressing slice of the film. Living in London, you see these people day in and day out. It's not glamorous and nothing is overacted. We all know a Paul (acted superbly by Ricky Grover): fat, loud, foul-mouthed council estate bully, and we've all seen the likes of the two low-life druggies Tony encounters early in the movie; always on the take, checking the change drop in phone boxes for spare coins while searching for their next hit.
There are some strong elements of gore in the movie, but it is never gratuitous, and certainly not there just for the hell of it. A terrifying aspect of Tony is the casual indifference he displays when either committing a murder or disposing of the corpse afterwards, yet more examples of Ferdinando's fine acting.
The film is quite short, and if you are the kind of viewer who wants answers to why things happen, then you will not find them here; this is like watching a short piece of someone's life, and then just moving on. Anyone abroad watching this would also probably be put off coming to London for life too. I wouldn't recommend this for date night.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film, but you won't be feeling good afterwards. It is almost too realistic, and will make you look twice at the strange, shambling man in the local supermarket staring at the dog biscuits for a bit too long.