A Menina Morta

Two teenage boys find a deadgirl and while one makes a toy of her, the other struggles with his conscience.

I don't do zombie flicks because they are tired, played out and too many different versions of them running around to make them anything but ridiculous these days. This film however, I like.

We have just one zombie that sorta exists without all the normal zombie expectations. She isn't the main focus of the film though. The boys who take advantage of her corpse, struggle with the moral aspects of their actions and fail to make the "right" decisions are.

It is a different sort of horror film that walks a fine line between horror and a dark drama with a bit of unnatural aspects sprinkled into it. Not a bad watch though. Just be prepared for it to be a bit disturbing in terms of how far these boys are willing to go.

I find myself sort of wondering why IMDb has this listed as horror. Sure, there's the titular zombie-like chick in the film, but she's hardly the focal point. Honestly, this seems to me a lot like what George Romero would've done if he was making his first movies today. Not that this will likely ever heralded like the original Night Of The Living Dead, but a lot of the points are still there. I know a lot of people who bow at the feet of the master will cry foul at that last statement, but let's face it...Romero's early stuff is rather slow paced, low on gore, and dripping with social commentary. And so is Deadgirl.

Basically what you've got here is the story of two disaffected teenage boys who come across a (sort of) dead girl in an abandoned hospital. Being teenagers, one disregards much of his humanity in favor of darker intentions while the other objects but does nothing to back up his protests. Slowly the story gathers more complexity as one teen begins essentially raping this (sort of) dead girl and eventually invites some friends in on the action. As troubling as this sounds (and it is), you've seen worse things in your life which is a bit surprising considering that in their minds this is basically a moving corpse. So eventually it's up to one guy to be the voice of reason and make everything right.

There's a lot of commentary here. Everything from peer pressure, the effects of apathetic and absent parents, and the apathy and angst of teenagers gets touched on and done quite well. All said and done I'd certainly recommend this to anyone who's looking for a horror movie with a bit more substance and a bit less gore. Sure...we all like our horror movies nice and violent, but sometimes it's nice to see one that takes a slightly different path.

I would have rated this film a full 10 out of 10, but I have to admit, it was so disturbing to me that I couldn't give it the full score.

Imagine, one zombie-girl being held captive by teenage boys. The zombie isn't the monster here, it's the boys.

This is most definitely NOT a date movie. This is more a flick that a person sees on their own and discusses later on internet message boards.

Not much blood and guts, no dystopian future... so why is it so disturbing? A quick perusal of the plot/synopsis should tell you why, I'm not going to give away any spoilers in this review.

I will say that this movie does a great job explaining the motivations of its male characters. I think it captures the angst, drives, and suffering of teenage males. Granted, the movie throws all of it to extreme contrast... but that only helps underline and illuminate those things.

The movie does a great job with cinematics and pacing. I expect to see great things from the directors.

I'd also like to comment on the movie poster (showing a woman's lips at a 90 degree angle). Brilliant movie poster on several levels.

I saw this at the TIFF and was expecting it to be some kind of Saw film or something of its ilk. However, it is much better than a simple horror film and really defies categorization. Deadgirl is a look into how we humanize, empathize and sympathize. It is a very provocative film and I squirmed many times. It is, however, not a film made for shock value. This is an essay on what it is to be human and where we draw the line on what we consider human. It is an exploration into where we draw the line on compassion and the hows and whys of our brutality and inhumanity. There are many scenes that affected me so deeply that I had trouble sleeping and talked about them for many weeks afterward. This is a great disturbing film.

You might think this is all smarmy and about necrophilia when two teens, Rickie (Shiloh Fernandez) and J.T. (Noah Segan), playing hooky find a dead girl (Jenny Spain) in the basement of a mental hospital. Well, she is dead, but she isn't. She's undead.

Soon, she becomes a sex tool for J.T and his high school friends.

The conflict between the two life-long friends simmers the entire movie until it boils over in the end as we reflect on just what it means to be human.

Lots and lots of blood and zombie action, not so much sex. But, if you are looking for a horror film, you will be disappointed, as it is more philosophical and can't be easily fit into a category.