Directed by Colin Floom and Greg Nemer, "Dead Love" is a modern arthouse folktale focusing on loss, mortality and personal conflict. It stars Kate Linder, Nicole Elizabeth Olson, Grayson Low, Bob Buckley, Elias Harger, and Deborah Curtis.
Brandon is a young train engineer whose world is upended when his mother suddenly takes her own life. At the funeral home, he meets Fiona, a beautiful and mysterious mortician who takes a strong interest in him. Soon they discover they share a passion for music. And when Fiona serenades him with an ancient folk song, their lives become entwined for eternity.
The story is a slow paced melodrama, teasing at a macabre obsession with mortality. At first "Dead Love" unfolds like a Gothic prose crying out against death'sentence cruel nature, and the hollowness felt through loss. The arthouse style feels a bit "Six Feet Under" and a little Park Chan-wook.
The acting is above par with Nicole Elizabeth Olsen giving an impressive performance. The real stand out however is costar Bob Buckley as Lassiter. He also gives us our only real suspense and psychological edge onscreen. Some moments are choppy when the larger plot material unfolds and as attractive a lead as Grayson Low is, his character is a bit too two-dimensional- barely emoting beyond his initial character traits.
There is only a mild level of horror that can be applied to "Dead Love". The film keeps with a steady pace marred in melancholy that never really kicks it off to create any rwal energy. But it is told beautifully and the surrealism is delish. All said, "Dead Love" has a niche arthouse audience but with no real thrills and a whimper of horror in the last act, this one will not entertain most horror fans. (2.5/5)
No comments:
Post a Comment