Dead Dicks

source: Dead Dicks

That movie could be both hilariously funny and damn scary. Lack of both. It seems to me that there are some serious boring dialogues and dark holes in the script. I thought about what if Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes rocked that whole idea. If anyone out there who wants to see a movie about a guy who can't himself, there is Guinea Pig 3: He Never Dies.

Dead Dicks was introduced to me by a friend. I wasn't sure what I was getting from the title alone, but was pleasantly surprised. Having never heard of the actors or the directors I wanted to do some research after seeing the movie. First off this film has the heart of a sci-fi film from either early Cronenberg or Kubrick. The story is wound tightly around the love and relationship of a hard working, dedicated sister and a complete failure of a brother. This movie poses the question of what if I can never die, but what if I can also never change who I am. Serious mental illness is addressed in this film and you leave feeling like everyone involved had a story to tell about depression in their own lives. This married couple of co-directors is headed for big things and we are looking forward to whatever that might be. #dadsthatdrink

It REALLY helps to look into the back-story of the film before watching it so you can level-set your expectations. Everyone involved does an admirable job, especially the two leads who take a locked-room melodrama and breathe some amount of reality and gravitas into a very, very thin plot. Given the surreal nature of the action, the sets and special effects are surprisingly easy to suspend disbelief around. The focus on dealing with a mentally ill family member is intriguing but the attempt to weave that driving theme into the 'horror' story never gels and leaves the later feeling tacked on. For the film makers this was a big swing and, for me, it was a miss but I can definitely see why those who are gushing about it are doing so. I'll definitely be checking out their next project. If you're an under-funded film crew looking for inspiration there's plenty to find. If you just want to find an entertaining drama to spend an hour and a half watching you'll probably leave a bit disappointed but the cupboards are pretty bare right now so it could be worth your time. If you're looking for a cosmic horror fix I strongly recommend just re-reading The Repairer of Reputations instead.

A true independant movie, which means very little money, only a few people involved (around 25-30 based on the credits, actors included), probably volunteers for most of them. It's REALLY hard to make a movie in such conditions. Usually the final result is a disaster. But in that case, they actually made a pretty decent movie. It must have been exhausting ! Good story with a bad ending. With a good ending, I would have given 6 stars. Heston Horwin (Richie) did a very good job, Jillian Harris (Becca) could have done better. That being said, her performance was watchable, and it seems it was her first major role...

I loved the look of this movie as it was something completely different, however it never really got going. The real downer for me was the end, which didn't provide any answers and just cut to black with no resolution to the story. Very average at best.

This movie feels like a high school film project/an amateur film. The acting is weak, the actors are rigid and just read off the script, very difficult to watch.... The jokes are dumb and feel forced, it is like they pause after each punch line to give you time to laugh but the way they delivered it is just not funny... Special effects are weak, the plot moves painfully slow, camera angles, lighting are off ... I stop watching after 15 minutes.

Great movie :) great stuff done with not a lot of money, and in the moment with the pandemic coming out still very strong, awarded horror film, great viewing :) choo choooo - only for the wise

This would be worth 5 starts out of 5, if it was a 15 minute art school short. As a would-be full length feature film, it fails completely. A plot with no purpose, just a mildly novel gimmick. A motley cast: a mildly competent male lead, an incompetent female lead whose performance every so often makes you cringe, plus one supporting male stump. I do blame the bad performances on the direction. Any director worth his salt would be able to get infinitely better performances even from these amateurs. But the plot, the script, the direction, the editing... it all falls short. And in the end, you don't come out enriched with a new idea or anything stimulating. You come out with less 80 minutes to live. Maybe that's the whole point of the plot: the characters keep getting their life back, while you're losing yours watching this crap...

After checking on her confused brother, a woman arrives in his apartment to look in on him only to find a series of his dead bodies lying around the apartment and a strange opening in the wall which allows him to be reborn every time he dies, forcing them to keep it from others. This was a pretty solid and enjoyable effort. One of the strongest aspects here is the rather entertaining nature of exploiting the silly premise without going over-the-top into the ridiculous. Featuring a much more calculated and controlled manner to the idea of him coming back from the hole in the wall each time he kills himself, there's a lot to like with how this goes about introducing the concept of discovering that's what's going on as well as the eventual need for how to press on with their plan of disposing of the bodies lying around which need to be taken care. With the strange portal in the bedroom allowing for the dead to be reborn in the area all over again which is thankfully never brought up or explored in detail and just accepted. Combined with the nice gore and breezy running time, this one has some enjoyable elements. There are some problems with this one. The main issue is the bland and utterly dragged-out pacing that relies on uninteresting storylines to carry itself out. The whole thing about his mental problems just seems to grind the film to a half and inject far too realistic a tone for what is essentially a black comedy about discovering yourself in various parts of the apartment dead the entire time. The conversations are important but they're placed at such spots in the film where it loses the energy and momentum brought about by trying to get the concept going and it's distressing to get that taken away here. As well, that holds back the real out-and-out horror of the premise for long periods making for it not to come across as such at all despite the premise which can turn some off immensely. Otherwise, there isn't much else to this one. Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Full Frontal Male Nudity.