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"Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

Old 09-26-12, 11:25 AM
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"Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9






Deadgirl (2008)



Selected by cwileyy



IMDB ENTRY

NETFLIX WATCH INSTANTLY

These "October Horror Movie Challenge" threads are for the discussion of the films in the 31 FILM SUBSET list.

MAIN THREAD | LIST THREAD

The plan is for everyone to watch this film on the October day in the thread title, and to start discussing it the morning of the following day.
You may start discussion early if you want, but the preferred plan is for this to be as much of a group exercise as possible, with all of us viewing it "together" and discussing after.

Of course, you are totally encouraged to participate in these threads even if you haven't watched the movie on the designated day.
Even if you haven't watched it in years, or are not participating in the Horror Challenge, please feel free to chime in.



Spoiler tags are unnecessary in here, so if you have yet to see the film BEWARE OF SPOILERS.

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Old 10-08-12, 02:00 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

I watched this movie thru Netflix a few months ago not knowing it was going to show up here.

This is a tough movie for me to critique since it is relatively well done even though the subject matter is pretty sickening. It held my interest throughout but it is definitely not a comfortable film to watch and not something I would really care to revisit. Kinda like Irreversible. Once I have seen it, I have no interest in watching it again.

My rating: **1/2 out of *****
Old 10-08-12, 02:55 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

$4.99 Blu Ray with "Upgrade & Save" in Bestbuy
Old 10-08-12, 04:16 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

Haven't watched this yet but it is streaming on netflix.
Old 10-09-12, 09:42 AM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

Originally Posted by brianluvdvd
I watched this movie thru Netflix a few months ago not knowing it was going to show up here.

This is a tough movie for me to critique since it is relatively well done even though the subject matter is pretty sickening. It held my interest throughout but it is definitely not a comfortable film to watch and not something I would really care to revisit. Kinda like Irreversible. Once I have seen it, I have no interest in watching it again.

My rating: **1/2 out of *****
Pretty much my thoughts. Good filmmaking and acting, but the premise and subject is so disgusting that I'd rather not see it again. Please tell me that no group of people is so depraved that 4 of the first 5 guys to find a girl like that would have their first thoughts be rape.
Originally Posted by xage
$4.99 Blu Ray with "Upgrade & Save" in Bestbuy
I will usually buy ANY horror BD at $5 or less, but I think you'd have to pay me to own this film.
Old 10-09-12, 11:27 AM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

I've seen Deadgirl before and agree a knee jerk reaction is to see it as depraved but there is more merit beyond the schlock. The male rape behavior is obviously not typical so I wonder if that is intentionally over exaggerated to facilitate relevant social commentary (males socially dominate lifeless/submissive women). Like with 28 Days Later or Day of the Dead it's cool that the adversary is not the zombie but the human conflict created by the zombie. If nothing else it's creative that there is a zombie movie replying on empathy with the undead (so maybe unrealistically repulsive characters were necessary to sway viewers into rooting for the traditional "bad guy" zombie); it's a fun spin on horror conventions. I'll post more after I re-watch Deadgirl.
Old 10-09-12, 12:12 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

I thought that this was a very well done movie that was pretty fearless in what it dived into.

However, since I pretty much wanted to take a scalding hot shower to wash the movie off of me when it was over, I doubt I would ever see it again. Ever.
Old 10-09-12, 04:50 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

Interesting movie. This is one of those movies I'm not sure I liked. I guess I was most disappointed by what we didn't see. We know the bad boyfriend is a zombie at the hospital. No zombie outbreak. No calls to the CDC. What do the doctors think. What are they doing with him. Then we have the dead girl escaping but we get no follow up on her. We just get a new doll.

Also the dead girl was a odd zombie. She kills the dog easily. Why didn't she kill JT. I was starting to think that maybe she did like being chained up. That obviously isn't the case as we see later. I guess zombies don't have to be consistent.

One of the stupidest parts was when the guy goes to rescue the girl and ends up dead instead. Why didn't he just bring the police to the girl. On that note why didn't the main guy just bring the police.

I wonder with the dark themes of this if the funny bits were needed. I think the film would have been better off without the comedy or going all the way with comedy. Instead the movie kind of straddle the line between dark comedy and serious.
Old 10-09-12, 09:11 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

I can't believe I watched this a second time, even for the subset. It's not a bad movie, just makes me feel bad. Definitely has heavy elements/influence of Larry Clark. Effective, for sure.
Old 10-09-12, 11:17 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

Just finish this pretty late. Thought it was a good indie flick. Kudos to the deadgirl actor being nude the whole time & acting her role real well. Just wonder who put her there the first place. Good plot for a movie.
Old 10-09-12, 11:41 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9


Perplexing film about two high school boys who, while skipping school one afternoon, find a dead girl, naked and chained to a table, in a remote corner of the basement of an abandoned mental hospital. In this instance, though, “dead” is a subjective term, as the girl keeps moving even after having had her neck broken and being shot three times by one of the boys. Still, being teenage boys, one of them sees the sexual possibilities inherent in the situation and things rapidly get a) out of hand and b) disgusting. While I really wanted to like the film, I never felt as engaged with the story as I wanted to be. The blame for this falls on the directors more than on the screenwriter--I get the feeling that they wanted the film’s tone to be seen as “intense,” when in actuality it comes much closer to being seen as “languid.” The screenwriter doesn’t escape all blame, though, as the film takes out a full-page newspaper ad announcing the ending about 75 minutes in. Although I hate to say it, Deadgirl ends up being pretty forgettable.
Old 10-09-12, 11:55 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

I can now confirm that Deadgirl does not benefit from subsequent viewings; it is just slightly less shocking.
Originally Posted by DEEveeDEE3
...Kudos to the deadgirl actor being nude the whole time & acting her role real well. Just wonder who put her there the first place...
Deadgirl is one film that begs for a prequel. Good point about the actress, that is commendable.
Old 10-10-12, 12:42 AM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

Trent Haaga, Deadgirl scribe, has a blog with a bit of depth about Deadgirl and includes a screenplay for the now abandoned Deadgirl 2. It turns out this is also the guy who plays Killjoy, insanity...
I always saw the original DEADGIRL as a condemnation of misogyny as opposed to being misogynous - the boys were the monsters, not the "monster" of the title. But a lot of people didn't see it that way. My idea for the sequel was to try and tell a story from the point of view of a female outcast and what would happen if she found the DEADGIRL this time ... instead of using the DEADGIRL for the impetus of her sexual fantasies, what if she used the DEADGIRL for her revenge fantasies instead? I also wanted to put the story back into the "really small rural town" where the first one was supposed to take place (we shot the first movie in Los Angeles and while it looks a lot like "anytown," it didn't capture that economic desperation that I was hoping for ... desperation that would have added to the boys bizarre and angry choices). What I ended up writing could maybe be described as "Precious meets The Pit with a zombie attack dog."
Old 10-10-12, 09:54 AM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

Well this was romantic. I'm not really sure what to make of this film. It had some genuinely creepy and disturbing moments, and the actress playing Deadgirl did a good job. I echo statements from others who say it's hard to claim that you liked this film, even though I think it was mostly effective as a horror film, I probably won't revisit anytime soon.

I appreciate the fresh take on the zombie genre, and the potential for themes in sexuality and domination, even if they were a bit undercooked. The film was slow at times, and it was hard to like the mopey main character. Typical of horror films, all of the actors were way too old to actually be in high school, so it was weird hearing them say "man" so freaking often. The ending was also predictable so I wish they hurried up and got there a bit sooner. Also, what was up with the composer completely ripping off the soundtrack to Donnie Darko? It was completely shameless.

For as disturbing as the subject matter was, I thought they kind of held back with the sex scenes, but then again, I'm not really sure I'd want them to get any more explicit than they did... Overall, a disturbing flick with some interesting ideas. Nice recommendation for the subset challenge.
Old 10-10-12, 12:15 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

Originally Posted by brianluvdvd
I watched this movie thru Netflix a few months ago not knowing it was going to show up here.

This is a tough movie for me to critique since it is relatively well done even though the subject matter is pretty sickening. It held my interest throughout but it is definitely not a comfortable film to watch and not something I would really care to revisit. Kinda like Irreversible. Once I have seen it, I have no interest in watching it again.

My rating: **1/2 out of *****
I thought I was in the Return of the Living Dead thread when I read this and was wondering wtf movie you watched
Old 10-10-12, 12:36 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

I was actually very surprised that this movie wasn't more graphic than it was. I guess that restraint should count for something ...

Anyway, I didn't dislike the movie, but I didn't really like it either. On the whole, the film felt to me like it was coasting on its concept, and I will admit that it has the potential to be a pretty powerful concept. But I didn't feel like there was ever any real examination of the ideas that got brought up through the concept. It was just there, much like the dead girl herself.
Old 10-10-12, 01:11 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

Every time people talk about a movie being sickening or disturbing I get excited and then realize I will probably be let down
Old 10-10-12, 02:40 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

Originally Posted by LosingMyMind
I thought I was in the Return of the Living Dead thread when I read this and was wondering wtf movie you watched
There you go...losing your mind again. Yeah, I could see where that would be a strange review for ROTLD.

Originally Posted by Larry C.
Every time people talk about a movie being sickening or disturbing I get excited and then realize I will probably be let down
Seeing as how all of the people posting in these horror threads appear to be horror aficionados, I would say you would be safe and not be let down. Unless you enjoy rape. If so, then you will probably be disappointed.
Old 10-10-12, 03:12 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

Originally Posted by brianluvdvd
There you go...losing your mind again. Yeah, I could see where that would be a strange review for ROTLD.



Seeing as how all of the people posting in these horror threads appear to be horror aficionados, I would say you would be safe and not be let down. Unless you enjoy rape. If so, then you will probably be disappointed.
No I don't enjoy watching rape but I'm sure it's not Irreversible which was for me a bit uncomfortable but not something traumatizing.

Brian there's horror and then there is disturbing.

Read this:

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/...ght=disturbing
Old 10-10-12, 03:33 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

Originally Posted by Larry C.
No I don't enjoy watching rape but I'm sure it's not Irreversible which was for me a bit uncomfortable but not something traumatizing.

Brian there's horror and then there is disturbing.

Read this:

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/...ght=disturbing
Yeah, that's a great thread. Good way to find some interesting movies.

It's always tough to recommend disturbing movies to people. It's kinda like comedy. Each person has their own sense of humor or level of disturbance so it's near impossible to guarantee a disturbing film or a comedy to people. Funny how those two kinda go hand in hand in that aspect.
Old 10-10-12, 03:37 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

5/5
Old 10-10-12, 03:40 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

Originally Posted by brianluvdvd
Yeah, that's a great thread. Good way to find some interesting movies.

It's always tough to recommend disturbing movies to people. It's kinda like comedy. Each person has their own sense of humor or level of disturbance so it's near impossible to guarantee a disturbing film or a comedy to people. Funny how those two kinda go hand in hand in that aspect.
I hear what you're saying.
Old 10-15-12, 10:36 PM
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Re: "Deadgirl" Reviews/Discussion - 2012 Horror Challenge: Day 9

Originally Posted by Undeadcow
I've seen Deadgirl before and agree a knee jerk reaction is to see it as depraved but there is more merit beyond the schlock. The male rape behavior is obviously not typical so I wonder if that is intentionally over exaggerated to facilitate relevant social commentary (males socially dominate lifeless/submissive women). Like with 28 Days Later or Day of the Dead it's cool that the adversary is not the zombie but the human conflict created by the zombie. If nothing else it's creative that there is a zombie movie replying on empathy with the undead (so maybe unrealistically repulsive characters were necessary to sway viewers into rooting for the traditional "bad guy" zombie); it's a fun spin on horror conventions. I'll post more after I re-watch Deadgirl.
I disagree that the behavior in this movie is atypical. The Glen Ridge Rape case, in which a group of high school football players lured a mentally handicapped girl to a basement where they sexually abused her, occurred a few miles from where I live. This was worse than what happens in Deadgirl (at least up to the point where they get the idea to make more zombie sex toys), since one of the Glen Ridge teenagers pretended to like her in order to lure her into the basement, and the sex acts that they made her perform were arguably more depraved than anything that happens in Deadgirl. It wouldn't surprise me if something like this happens a few (or a few dozen) times a year somewhere in the U.S., but it is almost never prosecuted. The victim is attacked as a slut (as happened in Glen Ridge, but the case got wider coverage because the attack backfired because of the disability of the victim) and/or the victim or her family don't want to be subjected to the publicity and personal attacks that will follow.

I agree that the monsters in Deadgirl are the boys, not the zombie. The movie leaves the loose ends regarding what happens outside the hospital because it is an exploration of the group dynamics of the boys, not a conventional zombie movie.

The funny thing about horror movies is that you can pick up the newspaper or turn on the TV any day and find something much worse than what happens in any movie that has just happened, sometimes perpetrated by psychopaths, sometimes by rather ordinary people. The difference is that on the page or through the voice of a reporter standing with a microphone in front of a nondescript building, its much more dry than in a movie, so you have to take the time to imagine what really happened to understand the horror.

I liked Deadgirl a lot. I am reassured that most of the people here found it very disturbing. You were supposed to, so you passed this (relatively easy) test of your humanity.

I liked the ambiguity of the ending. Should we believe that our (relatively) nice guy made a tragically wrong decision in an attempt to save the girl that he loved, or that he's really no different than the others but just wants to keep his zombie toy to himself? I'm guessing that the answer falls somewhere in between, but I'm not really sure.

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