The Mesmerist

I saw this at SxSW in 2002, not really expecting much humor since it was based on E.A. Poe's "The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar." Luckily was I mistaken.

Because Daisy's (Jessica Capshaw) father is dying, her and her fiance Benjamin (Neil Patrick Harris) make one last visit to his home before he goes to the great beyond. But her father (Howard Hesseman) isn't about to go without a fight. Using a half-mad mesmerist (Jason Carter) he is going to journey to the other side while still communicating with the living. This could have easily been a bad horror flick, but the characters are so dysfunctional that it leads to some outlandish British comedy style humor.

I rented this and watched it today. I expected a decent movie, and that's what I got. It really was funny. The dark humor is very funny and I think anyone who likes dark comedies would like it. No, it's not as good as some dark comedies like Corpse Bride, but it's still an alright movie. There's not much to say about this movie. I've said all I can say now. It's funny, sort of stupid, and short. I like comedies like that. You know, the sweet and short kind? I don't want to watch a comedy if it's 3 hours long! This is short, but short to the point where you wish it could have been at least 10 minutes longer. It's not bad, it's not great, but it's a good, short, and funny movie. A rental.