A Menina Morta

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.

It doesn't take a genius, or a saint to realize that rape is wrong. Whether the victim is among the living or otherwise, it just ain't cool. But are there any rules pertaining to the undead? Apparently not. Or if there are, certain individuals in this film aren't the least bit concerned. Written by the legendary Trent Haaga, Deadgirl is An utterly tasteless story about two high school chums who go off playing hookie, and drinking, ending up at an old, abandoned mental hospital. Said chums soon make a shocking discovery in one of the rooms. A dead chick tied to a table. It doesn't take long for these two genius' to figure out that she's not dead, after all. That's right! Undead. So, I guess that would make this a zombie flick, wouldn't it? An original Zombie flick. A very, very mean-spirited zombie flick. It doesn't take nearly as much effort as it should have for the bad kid to talk the wuss into not telling anyone about their new discovery... So that they can just stop by now & then (every day) for a quickie, at the expense of their undead new friend. That's not that weird, right? Wrong! Very weird, and very wrong! In other words, this movie is hilarious. I'm glad some people can see that the living dead sub-genre could use a little reinventing, from time to time. And don't get the idea that Deadgirl is just a film about rape. It's also an intriguing character-study. A coming-of-age movie. A much deeper story than one would first assume. With plenty of dark humor never too far behind. So, if you're bored with all the same old predictable Horror patterns that's been around for many a decade, you may find this particular one to be original, and quite refreshing. Deadgirl offers not one dull moment, and is no doubt a future cult classic. I'd recommend giving Deadgirl a chance as soon as possible. 6/10

This movie will grab you, if you let yourself into it. It's disturbing and might haunt you, if you are willing to take the "ride". Fun it's most definitely not. But in a weird way it's grossly compelling. An exercise in human behavior (of course not meant to be understood as a blueprint for everyone), this movie is definitely an unsettling watch and weird experience.

While the main actors here can be seen in smaller roles in bigger pictures (one of them plays a blink and you'll miss him role in Cadillac Records for example), they do convince and play their roles as straight as they can. It's not a perfect movie, but it's a small little picture, that might be a stepping stone for it's director, if he can take this experience from this movie and continue with bigger things. I think he the ability to do so ... This one definitely is not for those who can't bear watching "torture" (be it of physical or psychological nature).

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.