Deadgirl (2008) Movie Review
Written By: JEH
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Marcel Sarmiento, Gadi Harel
Producers: Marcel Sarmiento, Gadi Harel
Writers: Trent Haaga
Date Released: September 6, 2008
Cast:
Shiloh Fernandez as Rickie
Noah Segan as J.T.
Candice Accola as Joann
Jenny Spain as Deadgirl
Eric Podnar as Wheeler
Rating = 3/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
Trying to escape a boring fire drill at school, J.T. (Noah Segan) and Rickie (Shiloh Fernandez) go to an abandoned mental asylum to hang out. The pair then decides to explore deeper into the tunnels of the place, where they find a blocked door. Behind it, they discover a naked young woman chained and covered in plastic. J.T. and Rickie’s friendship gets tested when J.T. decides to keep the woman as his sex slave, while Rickie contemplates on how to free the woman. But their circumstances quickly change when they discover that the woman cannot die.
Gore Factor
Deadgirl (2008) is rated R for a lot of reasons: graphic nudity, rape, pervasive language, and bloody violence. More than half of the movie shows a fully naked woman and (Trigger Warning) men taking turns in sexually assaulting her. Aside from sexual violence, there are also notable gory scenes done with realistic effects. So when you see a man literally pooping out his internal organs, it will either make you wince or stare in amazement.
For animal lovers, watch out for the scene when a dog gets bitten to death.
The Grave Review
Deadgirl (2008) is not for the faint of heart. Morally and graphically, it aims to disturb the viewers with disgusting exploitative torture porn but in a way you have not seen before: the victim is a zombie. Who would’ve thought that you can pair up two unlikely horror sub-genres and make it work?
The plot might seem plain, or even silly, at first as the film is about two high school boys who find a chained naked woman in an abandoned mental asylum, but the story add some deeper political and/ emotional statements than whats shown on the surface. What made the movie terrifying was the character, J.T., one of the high school boys. His morals are particularly distasteful, immediately thinking of keeping the bound girl as his sex slave, alive or not. He even invites another friend, Wheeler (Eric Podnar), to “enjoy” the slave. This goes on for the rest of the film and it gets to the point where it is physically sickening. It makes viewers question their own morals, for example, are we supposed to feel nothing because, technically, she’s already dead. But her expressive eyes show otherwise. Eventually, you’ll realize who is the real “monster” and the real “slave”.
The ending, although predictable, is still disturbing. Usually, horrifying conclusions are accompanied by ominous or deafening music. However, we get to see Rickie’s fate with opposing themes. Happy music is playing in the background, Rickie is a happy man, and the atmosphere feels notably lighter than the rest of the film. So when we see the unsettling conclusion, we are left with a feeling of weird satisfaction that’s something not to be proud of. Not a lot of horror movies give viewers an ending that confuses their emotions, making the film memorable.
Despite the aspects of the movie that were done right to disturb its viewers, the film is nowhere near perfect, specifically in the acting department. The first quarter of the movie feels awkward due to wooden acting and ridiculous teenage dialogue. While the movie gets better, there are still scenes where the acting is distracting in a bad way. This is particularly true considering the theme and tone of the film.
So, is Deadgirl (2008) worth a watch? If you are a fan of extreme horror, there’s a good chance that this film will impress you. But if you only base a horror’s extremeness on gory scenes, keep in mind that the film focuses more on moral degradation. But if you are looking for a disturbing film, give this one a shot. On the other hand, if you’re looking for the next best horror film, you might be let down. This movie was crafted to disturb alone, and its fear factor and entertainment value are subjective.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Deadgirl (2008) three graves out of five graves.
Do you agree with our review? Comment below.
Join the Conversation