Art Of The Dead

Art Of The Dead is written and directed by Rolfe Kanesky, whose Party Bus To Hell was a gonzo, gory good time. This new film is a more assured directorial effort with remarkable use of color. Michael Su’s cinematography is excellent, mixing reality and demonic realms to head-spinning effect. In fact, the way each painting comes to life, and it is different for each picture is very neat and adds a sense of menace to the background of each scene they are in. This subtly builds to an explosive finale of intensity, for which the viewer will be on the edge of their seat.

But, there are a few flaws at play. For one, the movie’s story is predictable. There are not many surprises here, which does mean that a few scenes do come across as dragging out the runtime more than anything. But the characters are well-developed enough for this only to be a minor nuisance. No, what truly stops Art Of The Dead from reaching its full potential are the ways the paintings come to life.

Or, more specifically, how greed- the frogs- manifests itself. As Dylan is working harder and harder to make more money, he becomes a more yellow-ish, green color. His cheeks begin to bulge out, as does his neck. The character is taking on more frog-like qualities, which makes sense. The problem is that as presented here, it looks goofy as hell. The make-up on Hassel is laughable. The odd way he has to talk while still keeping his face angled like a frog’s is awkward, and just does not make sense.

“…the cast is able to, more or less, maintain themselves and the eeriness even when the film loses itself.”

It is unintentionally hilarious, and Art Of The Dead is far too serious for that sort of thing. Not that there’s anything wrong with being somber. But when something that daffy happens and the context screams creepy, something’s got to give. In this case, it is the otherwise carefully crafted atmosphere. The weird part is that none of the other sins manifest themselves in such a dopey way.

Happily, the cast is able to, more or less, maintain themselves and the eeriness even when the film loses itself. Hassel plays the caring husband and loving father well, and his transition to angry and greedy is well developed, despite how it’s realized. Jessica Morris is a lot of fun as the stepmom who becomes too h***y for her own good. She and Hassel make for a believable pair, and she seems to care for the children genuinely. Robert Donovan, as the former priest, is great. He sells the backstory and trauma well and grounds the more fantastical elements so that they feel real.

Rinehart is superb as the caring but scared girlfriend. A moment where she asks Donna to take her into the city after Louis was cruel to her, is heartbreaking. Chyz makes for a menacing murderer, and his switch over is intense. He sells every second of it. As Wilde, Tesla owns his all-too-brief scenes. The man is effortlessly charming, to the point where you almost understand why he did what he did. Cynthia Aileen Strahan is also fantastic as Donna. When she goes to the party and demands she be left alone with her crush, it is kind of scary.

Art Of The Dead is not a flawless effort, but the cast more than makes up for the most significant offenses as does Kanefsky’s excellent use of color and atmosphere. Overall, this is a lot of fun, just be ready to laugh at, not with, the movie at a few spots.