A Necessary Death

So when it comes to Daniel Stamm films, the first I saw was the Last Exorcism. I undervalued this film because I saw it in theaters (The only of Stamm's films to go to theaters) and because it was during the whole string of horribly made unoriginal "exorcism" movies. After watching again, it actually isn't that bad. His newest film "13 sins" is based off a foreign film but is by far his BEST and way better than the Last Exorcism and A Necessary Death.

Anyways, this review is about A Necessary Death (obviously). I definitely suggest a watch, because it is engrossing and gives an interesting fake documentary take on suicide in the genre of "horror." I said I would not include spoilers in this review, but the only place the movie fails is within the fact that a little over halfway through, you know EXACTLY how the film will end and the plot-twist/"oh wow" moment will unfold. Literally about 45 or 50 minutes into the movie, I said to myself, "Oh, well *this* (to avoid spoilers) will happen and the credits will roll." Sure enough, that it was exactly what happened. Overall an above average movie. Definitely worth a watch! Unfortunately, it is just PREDICTABLE. Like I said, give his newest film "13 sins" a chance and it is definitely his best piece to date.

A Necessary Death had its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX. It's hard to know what to think of a feature film that appears to be intentionally passing itself off to audiences as a documentary about the making of a student film on about a person planning to commit suicide. Much of the audience - myself included - was confused and thought that the film was an actual documentary. As a documentary, the project would be incredibly startling and disturbing.

As a feature film, the project is creative, but also a bit of gimmicky and somewhat emotional manipulative, because the audience feels like they are being shown something real which is really a complete work of fiction. If the film opens a wider debate about the ethics of suicide and, in this case, the ethics of the euthanasia, that may be positive, but its more likely to lead to a debate about the ethics of film making. Realistically, the film's approach so off-putting and confusing that it is unlikely to get much theatrical distribution. Also, the last third of the film and especially the ending seems a bit overly melodramatic. It feels like the writer/director made the film in an effort to get himself noticed in film circles by doing something creative and out-of-the-box.

Well, he has done that, but I'm not sure if the effort to confuse the line between fact and fiction is a healthy one or not. The film is entertaining, but also a bit disturbing in a way that doesn't necessarily seem particularly constructive. It is asking questions about the ethics of documentary film making, but it is unclear to this observer if they are questions that are particular important ones to ask or to answer.

A short premise is a film crew are making a documentary about suicide, and they are following someone around, documenting the persons final days being alive, showing how this person lives, getting to know the person, the persons family, reasons why, etc. All up until their final act, suicide. The film is made as a 'found footage' film, or made to look as real as possible.

I think there were some 'twists' added into the flow of the story that weren't needed. Ones that made it seem as more of a 'theatrical' story. Some of them were a bit mediocre, and just in my opinion, could have been left out to make the film flow a bit better.

The one thing that really threw my train of thought off, was the ending. I won't spoil the ending they used, and please don't look up detailed info on the film if you are planning on seeing it/buying it. But the ending they used in the final cut of the film, was unnecessary and was again, a bit 'theatrical', which put me off, and my reaction would have been a lot better if they hadn't used it. It took away from the 'real' feeling the film is supposed to give. I say this because, on the DVD, there is an alternate ending. The alternate ending should have been the final ending of the film, not the one they used. The alternate ending made a much better end to the story and film, and made much more sense.

Overall, I do recommend seeing this, just don't read too much on it, some things may get a bit ruined if you do.

I don't want to say much because I really want people to watch it for themselves first. I just have to say I thought this was a fantastic piece of work and whilst a lot of people may say that this is bad taste, I think it's very honest and I respect that.

I'm not easily stunned or speechless but this film is an exception and addresses some very important topics that really need to be discussed more openly in this world. Maybe then, it would be understood much more. I would advise anyone wanting to watch this to help them deal with the topic surrounding this film, that it may not perhaps be ideal for some but may be for others. Everyone comes away with a different opinion .

From the moment I seen it on Netflix, it's been stuck replaying in my head. It has so much emotion. I will always remember the last scene. It's truly the most amazing film I have ever seen. I've told everyone that has Netflix to take the time to watch it. Even now I have watched it over a year ago and I am up at 4AM thinking about it. It compelled me to write this review. Seriously, watch it. You will not forget it. It will take you through so many twists and turns. You think you will know what'll happen, then it'll shock you to your very core. It's like listening to a song that gives you chills. Trust me, it is time well spent.