By Romey Norton - November 12, 2024
This surreal arthouse drama Death depicts the last memories of Sabrina (Marigold Pazar), with her friends Went, Mazza, and her lover Romeo. Things quickly become unnerving, as the film tries to incorporate twists and turns blending dreams, reality, fantasy, and deception. Alongside Pazar, the film also stars Lauren Johnson, Oliver James Damian, and David Mecimovic. Death opens with a woman smoking in a bathroom (similar to The Substance) in a bath which is soon filled with blood. We flashback to a murder, and now will subsequently learn how that took place.
The filming styles attempt to be ‘artsy’ with distorted images, slow motion, and many blurred shots. Sometimes this helps the emotion of the scene and other times it’s awkward and distracting.
As there are sections with very little dialogue throughout the film, therefore it’s the use of sound that drives the piece. From heightened noises, (such as the sound of feet walking in blood to wrapping presents) orchestral music pieces, and silent screams, the sound does help create an uneasy and unnerving atmosphere.
The film is a very slow burner - even though a lot is going on with the sound aspect, and shots, Death feels like a film that goes on forever. Sections become drawn out and boring and feel as if they’re leading nowhere.
The acting is satisfactory; there isn’t much room for character development or specific memorable sections where the actors can flex their muscles. The characters are quirky, slightly odd, but don’t gel well together, but this could be seen as adding to the whole disjointed vibe of the piece.
As the film develops, we spend time learning about the friends and their relationships. As the film is so ‘arty’ there are times I just wanted to get to the murder we saw at the beginning and not go through all these random montages of dancing, weird sex scenes, and arguments.
The ending is predictable and a little disappointing. It’s simple and effective, but from the tone of the film, I expected something a little more dramatic. More out there to really wow the audience.
Death is a strange piece of film, certainly for those audiences who enjoy more arty and odd sequences, where your interest will be peaked but you might not know what’s going on. At times it felt like a weird acid trip, and at others, it felt like a bad attempt at making an arthouse film. Death offers audiences a look into what someone's last thoughts would be before they die - in a very experimental way.
Death is available now on digital platforms
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