3 gibbles out of 5

Directors: Marcel Sarmiento, Gadi Harel

Deadgirl caught my eye for the setup: Two high school boys – childhood friends – stumble across a girl chained up in an abandoned building.  She has been chained up there and forgotten for who knows how long and, after some “investigation,” they discover that the girl cannot die, regardless of whatever abuse she may suffer. One boy with questionable ideas of where to take this, one boy with more righteous ideas.

The premise of Deadgirl suggested something that would blend horror with some more thoughtful elements, but unfortunately, I feel that it failed to elevate itself above some norms. First off is the casting. While these actors could pass for seventeen, and the dialogue is dumbly swear-filled age-accurate, I never quite bought into the lead’s roles. It’s difficult to pinpoint why the two main characters are friends and the more “sensitive” of the two had, well, sort of a prissy face the entire movie. Shallow? Sure, but he’s meant to be our moral center, so it was annoying.

Secondly was the pacing. There’s a huge suspension of disbelief involved with this movie, not necessarily just due to the main plot device – I’m cool with that – but the setup and development was way too clumsy. There are huge question marks regarding the logic behind what’s occurring, and no one offers the decency of even a lame explanation.

Character progression is also nil. While there are some redeeming moments for everyone, and bits that are obviously meant to make us think on subjects such as peer pressure, and lack of parental presence, etc., everyone jumps into their parts too easily. But it is shot well, and the mood created in the initial scenes is great. It’s also a fascinating idea, and thus worth watching, but floated outside the realm of what could have been done.