Deadgirl (2008)

A Masterpiece!

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Dead Girl was another movie I watched for free on my 'Amazon Shudder' subscription. I have to admit, I'm getting real low on my list of movies to watch, and Dead Girl wasn't up at the top. For starters, I'm not a fan of zombie films, which I think this film has been mislabeled as. Secondly, the film doesn't have such good reviews, so I was expecting a below average B- grade exploitation film. Luckily, 'Dead Girl' was actually a real surprise.The film centers around a group of high school stoners (Ricki, JT and 'Wheeler') who skip school to get drunk in an abandoned mental hospital and come across a girl in the basement who is chained to a table. They soon discover that the girl is not dead, but at the same time, not alive, after JT rapes her and breaks her neck during a struggle. JT fills their friend 'Wheeler' in, and soon the zombie girl becomes their after school sex slave, despite Ricki's protest.While the subject matter of the movie is quite dark, Dead Girl is actually a very funny movie, and it's not a pointless exploitation movie either. If anything it's a commentary on how women are objectified in horror films, or in media in general.I would highly recommend this film-in fact it's one of my new favorites. If you enjoyed 'Excision', you'll probably really like this one too.

I was really gonna let this one go after rating, just erase it from my mind. But after seeing so many ovations in the reviews, I suddenly felt the urgent need to balance things out a bit.First of all, I do like weird, low-cost indie movies. So this is in no way a genre-bashing, nor is it a "I didn't get it, so f**k y'all who are better than me"-kind of approach. There are a couple of elements that I see people easily read into this production, which I in no way see though. For starters, it is the social commenting. OK, teenage boys rape as soon as they get a chance. Disturbing, huh? And it really says something in the most intricate, subliminal, and psychologically thrilling ways of how teenage culture, manliness and all works for this generation, in our general, western culture etc etc. It is just so that it does not. People seem to find the theme and concept in itself so different from your everyday Hollywood-productions that they think the premise in itself is somewhat genius. Well, I guess it could be. But problem is, the characters are not even once believable throughout the entire movie. Their actions are mildly retarded at the very best, as is all the dialog between them. Not to mention the mediocre acting, or directing for that matter.Then there is all these comments about this being "art". Now, I have great respect for arts, as I have great respect for individual perception on how to define arts for someone. But seriously guys. I will not call any movie production "artsy" just because the pacing is slow. Or, because of the fact that there is a semi-conscious idea behind how to make use of light and dark in the most basic ways. Nor do I like to call it "art" just because the idea behind something sets it apart. It also need something more substantial, which I didn't find Deadgirl to have whatsoever.To give an example of horrifying, different wickedness that I do appreciate, I did find a film like Martyrs to be very, very good. Then again, that is of course, my very own taste, so I do not want to project anything upon others. To each his own. But please. Do make up your own mind about Deadgirl, and just don't feel the need to find this to be a masterpiece just because so many others do so. Personally, I found it to be one of the worst movies that I've seen in quite a while. Not because the idea was disturbing, or because I didn't "get it". But because I found it to be a horrible production in most every way.

I think a zombie movie should have more than one zombie in it. That's the whole crux of zombie movies - so many of them, so few of us, whatever shall we do? Deadgirl has one zombie, a young woman tied to a gurney who occasionally does zombie-like things (like obliterating a ferocious dog with only her bare teeth), but mostly she just passively lies there and gets raped (alot), sodomized, beaten, etc.But that's okay because we have this in-depth study of the teenage boy psyche to compensate for the total lack of zombie-ness. And here it is in a nutshell; whether he's a jock, a rebel, a nerd, a loser, or a stoner - the teenage boy is perfectly fine with sticking his penis in a zombie he's found tied up in a basement. It doesn't matter that she smells from festering bullet wounds, or that his friends have already dumped multiple loads in her and there's not a shower or garden hose to be found, or that... she's a zombie.Additionally, teenage boys have no moral compass. Teenage boys have minimal problem solving skills. Teenage boys lack the ability to articulate any thoughts more complex than "F_ck you, homo!" or whatever. Essentially, teenage boys have only slightly more brain activity than the zombies they're raping.Now, back to how much this movie sucks as a zombie movie. JT, the lead rapist, proves how deadgirl can't die by beating her, shooting her, etc. Near the end of the movie, however, he casually thrusts a machete into her skull. That should have killed her, but it doesn't.There's a clip showing how one of deadgirl's bullet wounds is oozing pus. She would have to be alive to generate pus.JT gets scratched by deadgirl, two jocks get bitten by deadgirl and none of them turn into zombies. A girl gets bitten and she does become a zombie. Why? So, the circle of deadgirl rape can continue, of course.The only high point of this movie was when a would be victim of two of the rapists soundly beats the crap out of them in a gas station parking lot.BOTTOM LINE: Basically, this movie is a misogynistic rape fantasy fest for emotionally stunted teenage boys and men.

Not only was the artwork for this movie i.e. the movie posters; stunning but so was the movie. The movie is based around two teenage boys who bunk off school and break into an abandoned mental hospital. In there, they find a girl wrapped in plastic strapped to a bed. Is she dead? is she alive? is she human? you'll have to find out for yourselves! All you need to know is that she's a major catalyst in the movie.The thing I liked most about this movie was that it was very metaphorical; from the evil dog guarding and living in the mental hospital - a metaphor for 'an entrance to hell', almost like Satan himself saying hello, to the hospital itself - sexual confusion and the hell of growing up. I read an interview with the director and I discovered a number of things; the film is actually about growing up. Being not only being desperate for sex, but being confused about sexuality. A lot of people think its about men being horrible and bad; it's not entirely about that but there are layers of misogyny within the film. The film touches on typical teen fears; intimacy, abandonment and uncertainty. One of the main characters, Rickie, is totally besotted by a female in the film, and gets repeatedly knocked back. Which you will find out later is completely relevant and quite central to the movie and it's themes.Although it seems the hospital is the boys idea of heaven, it's actually HELL for them. They almost don't know what they are doing there, and all it brings them is pain and eventually, causes them to do reckless things they would never have done... but you'll find out that one later. This movie is not for everyone, it's quite dark, gory and a bit shocking. A lot of you guys won't understand it or won't like it so bare that in mind! My friend told me about it a year ago so I bought it and watched it the other day :) it cost me a few quid. Give this title a watch!