Dead House

Still, if Dead House‘s only sin was being a substandard zombie flick, it would be much easier to swallow. But it’s just so determined to be disgusting – and so inept in its attempts to actually shock – that it sinks far below mere incompetence. It certainly isn’t that elements like torture and rape should be totally off-limits to the movies, particularly in this genre; films like Wes Craven’s Last House on the Left (inspired by none other than Ingmar Bergman) and the gruesome oeuvre of the “New French Extremity” filmmakers deployed those elements with conviction and energy and obvious talent, and the work was, if nothing else, at least worthy of some serious discussion.

Dead House feels like the effort of an immature teenager trying to self-consciously emulate things seen in “edgy” movies that he clearly didn’t have the sophistication to handle, and any real point it might have – i.e. the socio-economic theme in the villains’ choice of victims – is too vague and poorly articulated to make it worthwhile.

Is that, maybe, a little bit cruel? Well, so be it. Cruelty – to its characters, its audience, and the medium itself – is about all Dead House has to offer.

Dead House (2016) Directed by Brini Amerigo. Written by Andrea Cavaletto. Starring Danny Cutler, Alex Lucchesi, Alex Southern, Kate Marie Davies, David White, James Wiles

1 out of 10