Dead Dicks - Born Again Horror You Need To Watch
You would be forgiven for thinking that with a title such as 'Dead Dicks' you were about to witness some schlocky horror comedy. Instead Chris Bavota and Lee Paula Springer deliver an emotive and intelligent spiraling horror/familial drama. Filmed on a small budget in a single location (for the most part), we open on Becca (Jillian Harris) learning she has been accepted onto a nursing course, meaning she will have to move away from her hometown and her troubled brother Richie (Heston Horwin). Sitting on this news, she heads to work and receives a panicked call from Richie, imploring her to visit him. Her conscience gets the better of her and she leaves mid shift to see him.
It is at this point that things get WILD.
As she climbs the stairs to her brother's flat, she is accosted by would be yuppie neighbour, Matt (Matt Keyes), complaining about the noise and vibrations above. She placates him and reaches the flat. Upon entering, she finds Richie's lifeless body hanging in the cupboard and collapses with grief, only for Richie to appear over her shoulder, nonchalantly nude and eating a bowl of cereal. He reveals that he has been re birthed... and it’s not the only body in the flat. Richie's revelations come thick and fast: his suicides, achieved by different means each time, result in him being birthed (with oozing caul and all) through the vulva-esque crack that has appeared on his bedroom wall.
Richie's initial desire for death becomes an obsessive experiment, ensnaring Becca and Matt, who just can't help but get embroiled in the mess that follows.
The relationship between Becca and Richie takes centre stage, sibling love and duty are writ large. Becca's frustration is palpable, unable to move forward in her life due to the love and guilt she feels toward her brother. Richie is, at times, oblivious to the reach of his mental suffering. What sounds like a bummer is lifted by the dark vein of humour which runs a mile wide; the sensitive and realistic portrayal of a brother and sister in existential turmoil and some sparingly used but highly effective grotesque moments. We're left with more questions than answers at the inevitable conclusion, feeling slightly spun out yet enriched (a little like spending time with your actual sibling). The more traditional score by Julien Verschoois is complemented by post rock noise provided by L.A. duo Tusk & Bruiser, creating a jarring effect that amplifies the pain felt by both siblings.
Bavota and Springer have created a quietly devastating, bizarre and bloody trip out of this sympathetic dark night of the soul.
