He Never Died

The secluded anti-social Jack (Henry Rollins) spends most of the time at home sleeping and watching television. Every now and then he meets the hospital intern Jeremy (Booboo Stewart) to buy blood; he goes to the nearby diner where he is attended by the waitress Cara (Kate Greenhouse) that likes him; and he plays bingo in the local church. Out of the blue, he receives a phone call from his former girlfriend that asks him to meet their daughter Andrea (Jordan Todosey) in a bar. He brings Andrea home, breaking his routine and turning his life upside-down. When she is abducted by a local mafia, Jack is forced to unleash his latent violence.

"He Never Died" is a strange movie that has potential of cult-movie. The dark humor is excellent and Henry Rollins has top-notch performance in the role of a weird cannibal creature that never dies. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Ele Nunca Morre" ("He Never Dies")

I am a big fan of Henry Rollins ever since he was rocking on MTV, but in this film he outdid himself. I cannot imagine a more perfect role for him than this grumpy indestructible man who just wants to be left alone... for your sake.

But it isn't only that. The script made me think of many things and very often made me laugh out loud. Maybe I loved the film so much because I identify with the character, but in so many ways it is a deconstructive story, and I always like what makes me question the way things are and makes me think on how they could or even should be.

Rollins doesn't seem to need to act, he just shows up, but look at the films he chose to be in: Feast, Suck and this to top them off. The movie is one of those rare art pieces where you enjoy every part of the story, every line of dialogue and you don't give a rat's ass about special effects or production values. I loved the movie!

I feel that so many people missed the point of this movie. To explain any more of his character or the world he lives in would simply dumb down the story and remove the mystery that makes this story so haunting. This movie depicts an immortal being that is totally detached from humanity. How could any person alive for 1000's of years still care about petty bullshit and after 1000's of years how wouldn't everything become petty bullshit. Henry Rollins has hilarious dead pan delivery that is funny without betraying his characters apathetic nature. This is brought across even in the action sequences which make them even more gripping and realistic.

And, the really amazing thing, is that the above line of dialog was just a throw-away, not even something important enough to build a scene around. That's the kind of movie this is.

Reviewers Notes:

1. The first legitimate successor to the quirky Canadian horror flick, Ginger Snaps, which is doubly ironic because the two "official" sequels to that film were OMIGAWD terrible.

2. Completely insane and unpredictable yet strangely charming. By coincidence, this reviewer just finished a review of Quentin Tarantino's THE HATEFUL EIGHT and, in said review, pointed out how far QT has strayed from the charm and sly humor which demarked his earlier films. This strange little film could almost pass for an early work of QT, that is how offbeat it is.

3. Henry Rollins is great, almost re-defines the "man with no name" anti-hero persona first created by Clint Eastwood in the 60s. He does not say much, he just wants to be left alone, women initially are torn between wanting to date him and/or calling a cop, picking a fight with him is INVARIABLY A REALLY REALLY BAD IDEA, and his mono-syllabic responses to every question walk the fine line between autism and efficiency.

4. Engaging, charming, and generally a fun ride. Deserves a cult following.

((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Netflix has predicted I would like this movie. Because of all the awful reviews I found I've waited for months until I finally played it. I'm here to offset the score a bit.

This dark anti-hero tale has been interesting from the beginning to the end. I found it consistent, unpredictable and well acted. As violent as it can be, I curiously found it subtle on some layers. Reminiscing, I don't remember many special effects which means, in my humble opinion, they were used with measure and when appropriate.

If you can watch a movie without something cheaply exiting or exploding at the screen every few minutes and without every detail spoon-fed you may want to see this one.

I will definitively recommend it around.