Deadgirl (2008) Review

You'll Never Have Anything Better

Two outcast boys, Rickie and JT, ditch school and sneak into an abandoned mental hospital, where they find a dirty girl lying naked and tied up under a sheet of plastic.  She appears to be dead until JT goes in for a little poke and the girl suddenly starts breathing.  Instead of doing the right thing like calling the police or attempting to free the girl from her bonds, JT has the great idea to take advantage of this super model hot lady, never bothering to take into account a) her feelings on the matter and b) where her possibly decomposing cooter has been.  Rickie wants no part of it (the only smart choice he makes throughout the entirety of the film) but, once again, instead of contacting the authorities, he leaves JT with the kind of almost sort of dead girl so JT can have his way with her.  Cut to the next day and JT wants Rickie to come back so he can show him something “unbelievable.”  After some disturbing experimentation on the girl, JT finds out the girl cannot die, at least not permanently, no matter what he does to her.  And he does some bad things.  Rickie is freaked out, JT is thrilled and I’m irritated.  Rickie makes JT promise to keep the not so dead but still kind of dead girl a secret between them.  JT agrees but the secret doesn’t stay just between them.  And as more and more people learn about the deadish girl, sexing her up proves to have disastrous consequences. 

There were so many things wrong with this movie.  I don’t think any other film in recent history has confused, frustrated and intrigued me all at once like this one did.  As the end credits rolled and I wiped the drool from my chin, it left me thinking and that’s something a movie hasn’t done for me in a while.  I mean, you could point out every flaw in the movie and I would not hesitate to agree with you but I still have to say I liked it!  Let’s go ahead and cover up the naughty bits before we move on to the good stuff.

The story walked the fine line between refreshing and cliched and often lost its balanced and fell into the "been there, done that" pool.  I guessed almost every move by the dumb, one dimensional characters before it was made.  And speaking of characters, you have the stereotypical anti-hero, the loner, the stoner, the jock, the unattainable girl.  And every one of the characters made one terrible decision after the other, so much so that it became laughable.  Right from the beginning, when the two boys find the girl, JT's first thoughts are to hump her although he doesn't know a thing about her, including the condition of her love box and even if she's alive.  I mean, who thinks like that, except maybe Quagmire from Family Guy.  "Giggity, giggity, let's have sex!"  He goes from a typical slacker kid to an evil-eyed necrophile and what's more disturbing is the fact that Rickie doesn't seem all that phased by it.

In fact, Rickie isn't terribly concerned with the girl, either.  He's just worried about going to jail.  Although he's the lead character and one that I'm assuming we are supposed to care about and root for, he doesn't try too terribly hard to stop JT from raping the girl, doesn't call the cops and doesn't try to rescue her.  And when he finally does try to help the girl, it's half-hearted, unsuccessful and, frankly, a little too late in my little black book of blood.  The film is also scattered with insignificant side characters like Wheeler, the two boys' stoner friend and Johnny, the bully jock who harrasses Rickie for staring at his girlfriend, JoAnn, Rickie's crush.  Eventually, Wheeler, Johnny and JoAnn all get pulled into the mental hospital and the realm of the dead girl, all because of dumb, dumb decisions!

I know that when it comes to movies, suspension of disbelief is often required but this was just ridiculous.  For example, JT eventually tells Wheeler about the dead girl and once Wheeler and Rickie get the crap beat out of them by Johnny, Wheeler blurts out that they have a sex slave!  Like, really?  Just idiotic.  What's even more idiotic is the way Johnny was coerced into getting some dead lady love by the other boys.  All of these stupid moves are obviously there to serve the plot but it just seems like the writer's could have come up with a better way to get the characters to where they wanted than having them do things that make you want to scream at the screen.

I also wasn't too keen on some of the camera movement and editing.  First of all, can we get rid of this pseudo reality television "shaky cam" that has cropped up all over the place?  I felt sick within the first five minutes of the movie.  The decision to do quick cuts in some areas and dissolves in others also struck me as odd.  I did enjoy the contrast between the light, bright colors used during the outdoor shots and the murky green used during the scenes inside the abandoned hospital.  It definitely helped with setting the mood.

With all that said, I realize that the movie isn't just about repeatedly humping a dead girl.  The movie is a metaphor for growing up, for finding a place to belong and for feeling accepted.  I just don't think it was excecuted very well.  And in case it was a little too foggy to comprehend, JT outright let's us know this is about more than getting off.  In the room with the dead girl, Rickie finally grows enough balls to confront JT and JT says something to the effect of, "Don't you realize this is the best I'm ever going to get?"  It was probably the only moment in the film I felt something for one of the characters, most likely because I can understand completely where JT is coming from.  For him, it wasn't about the sex or just being a horny teenager.  It was about power, about taking back some control in his otherwise dull existence.  For him, being there with that dead girl is the only excitement in his life.  In a world where he has nothing, he can call that girl his own and for that to be compromised is very threatening for JT.  Think I took long enough to get to the point of the movie?  Well, so did the movie!

All in all, I thought the pace was pretty good and the acting was decent.  As far as what happens to the characters and the dead girl at the center of it all, I want you to watch it so I won't give it away.  I'll just say the last frame was definitely haunting and brought a whole new dimension of thinking to the table.  It left me with a lot to ponder and no matter how flawed the movie was, and it was very flawed, that's always appreciated.

4 out of 5.