Death and Cremation (2010)

Very well executed

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

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

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

After watching "The Bucket List" (starring Will Smith and De Niro) last week, one particular phrase from the movie really stood out to me. "Witness something truly majestic" was the main characters fateful ambition, an idea which I, myself, took an immediate interest in.Little did I know that two days later I would achieve this feat, when watching Justin Steele's Death and Cremation (2010). This amazing story sees Stanley (Brad Dourif), a lonely psychopath and serial killer working at a small town's crematorium, hire equally troubled teenager Jarod (Jeremy Sumpter) after the latter's stubborn persistence. What ensues is a riveting tale of unparalleled cinematic brilliance and character development not seen since the likes of Citizen Kane (1941).The father-son dynamic which the viewer sees slowly unfold between the two main characters is one of the most powerful moments you will ever bare witness to in a film, and the intelligently written story will see you completely absorbed from start to finish. A particularly spectacular scene of note sees the two protagonists attempt to hide a body from the teenager's unsuspecting mother. This scene is possibly the funniest scene to ever grace the big screen in living memory, and alone easily merits a score of 10 for the movie.I will close by simply saying, watch this movie. Watch it not because it is so damn great (it really is) but because you long to discover the genius of imagination brought to life. Watch it because it will prove to you that movies can be more than just movies. But most of all, watch it because is it better than The Woman.

Death and Cremation is the story of a embittered teenage outcast who finds an unlikely friend in the owner and operator of Stanley Cremations. Stanley, it would seem, likes to heat up his oven to rid the town of bullies.The movie, made for cable, is quite well made. As with any movie you'll be asked to excuse a few logic gaps and enjoy the ride. It isn't a new thing for a movie to ask you to sympathize with a killer but this one, at least from this reviewer's point of view, does well in that respect.Brad Dourif, a veteran character actor with an impressive resume, is given the starring role and hits it out of the park! Dourif has never been insincere in his performances and this is no exception. The young actor playing his protégé was quite good, as well.Try to catch this one! If you're a purist, however, the DVD is pan and scan.

Brad Dourif plays Stan, an unkempt, spotty-faced 59 year old loner with a bizarre pastime. He kills people he doesn't like. Just like that and doesn't think any more about it.Someone says something to him and he doesn't like what they've said, it's over their head with a baseball bat, then straight with the body in the furnace at the Crematorium where he works. It's comical in a way, but also grizzly.Step forward Scott Elrod who plays Matt, another loner and high school outcast, who strikes up a curious friendship with Stan. Matt starts work at the Crematorium and well things gather pace. I will say no more, so not to spoil the film. But be prepared for some twists and turns.* I really liked this film. The friendship between Stan and Matt is intriguing, for as strange as it may seem Stan is the father figure Matt doesn't have.There's blood. There's gore, but the movie should have lasted longer. The end is a slight disappointment in my view. But I expect you'll come to your own conclusions.I gave this film 8 out of 10. Its current IMDb rating is far too low in my view. Maybe not enough people have seen it.

In Smith County, the lonely owner of the Stanley Crematory is a deranged psychopath that kills bullies and cremates their bodies. The also lonely outcast teenager Jarod Leary (Jeremy Sumpter) misses his father Robert Leary and lives with his mother Martha Leary (Debbon Ayer) in a trailer. He is daily bullied at the Banyon High School by David Valentine (Blake Hood) and his gang.When the brother-in-law of Bill Weaver (Daniel Baldwin) dies of AIDS, he goes to the funeral home with his wife Becky (Staci Keanan) and their daughter Lindsey (Kate Maher) to research the costs, but Stan (Brad Dourif) does not give much attention to the family. Lindsey curses him and then she plays a prank on Jarod at school. Sooner Stan kidnaps and cremates Lindsey and Detective Matt Fairchild (Scott Elrod) from the Police Department is assigned to investigate the case of missing person. Meanwhile, Jarod asks for a job to Stan and they get close to each other.When Jarod gets beaten up by David, Stan decides to protect Jarod and abducts David and cremates him. Jarod learns Stan's secret and decides to get rid off the arrogant lawyer Rick Waters (Sam Ingraffia) that is dating his mother. But the neophyte Jarod panics and commits mistakes and Stan decides to fix the problem of his protégé. "Death and Cremation" is a slash-movie about bullying and cremation that is not as bad as the IMDb User Rating indicates. The story is flawed; the one dimension characters are poorly developed with the exception of Jared. The motives of Stan has become a psychopath should be better explained. However, this genre usually is more interested in the deaths than in well-developed characters. In the end, I liked this underrated film. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "O Crematório" ("The Crematory")