'Dead Lover' Review: A Freaky and Funny Frankenstein Iteration For the Freaks
Last year, I saw an indie called Booger about a woman (Grace Glowicki) who becomes a cat after her best friend/neighbor (a friend of the site, Sofia Dobrushin) passes away and her cat goes missing. Besides the freaky body horror, a highlight was Grace Glowicki’s committed performance, leaning into the feline fury as it progressed. I was unaware that she was one, a filmmaker, two, Canadian, and three, a Canadian horror indie darling. Tito is now on my watchlist. I was curious about her latest, Dead Lover, which I saw at Sundance. It's a macabre-meets-horny take on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in the style of Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre. You’ll love this horror-comedy if you’re into absurdist humor with a B-movie flair. Though Dead Lover is my brand of humor, it wasn't quite alive enough to adore. But I appreciate its high spirit in its production and the kooky charm that it wears on its stinky sleeve.
Image copyright (©) Courtesy of Rhayne Vermette
MPA Rating: N/A
Runtime: 1 Hour and 23 Minutes
Production Companies: Featured Creatures
Distributor: Cartuna X Dweck
Director: Grace Glowicki
Writers: Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie
Cast: Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie, Leah Doz, Lowen Morrow
Release Date: N/A
The Gravedigger (Glowicki) longs for a forever lover. Sadly, she’s, well, a gravedigger who smells as bad as the rotting corpses she tends to. But her loveless era ends when she finds a man (Ben Petrie, Glowicki's real-life partner) who doesn’t mind her stench and matches her freak. They’re going to build a wonderful life together, but he discovers that his sperm count is low. Determined, he sets sail searching for a cure. Along the way, he tragically dies, with the only piece of him left for Gravedigger being his finger. Who says love must stay dead? In response, Gravedigger gets on her scientist shit and resurrects an opera singer's (Leah Doz) corpse with her lover's finger. However, when her love awakens, she discovers that the monster is not the love Gravedigger used to know.
Dead Lover is Like a Duvall-esque Masterpiece Theater
Dead Lover was filmed in a studio rather than on location, and the passion is reflected in the sets, production design, and lighting, giving the film a theatrical feel. It's so similar to Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre in the sense that its limited cast is hamming on these handcrafted practical sets, enacting a classic story with a unique gothic flair that feels like a storybook coming to life. In this case, it’s a storybook you wouldn't want a kid to pick up. I was impressed by the spooky atmosphere created through smokescreen, costume designer Courtney Mitchell's macabre-themed 17th-century wardrobe, and Gravedigger's makeup. It's fairly limited in locations, but Glowicki makes the most out of it, like a masterclass in resourcefulness. Taking the principle of "less is more" into consideration and incorporating a masterpiece theater flair, this production happily capitalizes on its low-budget indie status. Its visual style felt refreshing, keeping you intrigued about its unique approach.
LOL, Canadians Doing Cockney Accents
Glowicki takes the ridiculous route with Dead Lover, and most of the humor hits with sheer hilarity. I couldn't help myself from chuckling at this strictly Canadian ensemble donning Cockney accents and committing to them throughout. I can only describe Gravedigger's accent as a mix of Jennifer Saunders and Renée Zellweger portraying Bridget Jones. Whatever gag falls flat, I just laugh at the silly voices.
Besides that, the movie is often jam-packed with hilarious gags backed by decent comic timing from the small ensemble. One of my favorite bits that caught me off-guard involves sapphic nuns in the most unexpected places.
Glowicki's Unique Spin on Frankenstein Slowly Runs Out of Steam
We all know the Frankenstein tale, but it’s time it had a female gaze edge to it. I say this as if Lisa Frankenstein didn't come out last year. Regardless, the list of women adapting Shelley's classic is short. Dead Lover is pure insanity, but Glowicki is effective when hitting the romantic components. There’s a discernible sense of sympathy when Gravedigger finds herself in a romantic rut, whether she's lonely or in grief. The resurrecting of her lover in the body of a dead woman is one of the interesting turns in Dead Lover's storytelling. I gotta respect the Gravedigger for swinging her sexuality like her axe – any way she pleases. However, that’s at the mercy of humor.
The film hits the Frankenstein story beats with a self-serious precision, resulting in a major lack of chuckles as it progresses. The film started strong, with its meta fourth wall breaks and its rebellious sexual spirit, but it eventually loses stream, with the DIY theatrical production holding it together. The laughs do recover, but it took me a long time to get back on track with its weirdo wavelength.
Final Thoughts
Grace Glowicki's Dead Lover is a delightfully silly and erotic take on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein with a Monty Python edge. If you're a big fan of the macabre and the absurdist, this one's for you.
