Deadgirl: 15th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray Review)

• Reviewed by: Dennis Seuling
• Review Date: Dec 19, 2023
• Format: Blu-ray Disc
• 

Director

Marcel Sarmiento, Gadi Harel

Release Date(s)

2008 (October 24, 2023)

Studio(s)

Hollywoodmade/Dark Sky Films (Unearthed Films)

• Film/Program Grade: A-
• Video Grade: A-
• Audio Grade: A
• Extras Grade: A+

Review

Deadgirl pushes the boundaries of horror with a dark, gruesome scenario. A couple of high school outcasts make a startling discovery in an abandoned hospital and balance ethics with expedience and a grim alternative.

Rickie (Shiloh Fernandez) and JT (Noah Segan) decide to cut class and snoop around a deserted mental asylum. They break in and run amok, vandalizing hallways and rooms, destroying furniture, and scattering papers. When they venture into the basement, a vicious-looking dog sends them fleeing. Coming upon a sealed metal door at the end of a corridor, they pry it open and discover a nude young woman (Jenny Spain) covered in plastic and manacled to a gurney. Assuming she’s dead, they approach, and see that she’s moving slightly.

Rickie wants to notify the police but JT has another idea. He sees in the girl a private sex object to be used at his whim. The boys argue about the right thing to do. Rickie has had eyes on schoolmate Joann (Candace Accola), the girlfriend of school jock Bobby (Andrew DiPalma), but she seems unattainable. How can he complete with Bobby? JT is convinced that they’ll never do any better than having a non-responsive female as their human sex toy.

Deadgirl centers its story on how the discovery of the dead girl tests Rickie and JT’s long-lasting friendship. Initially, the boys are depicted as outsiders who don’t fit in with the cool kids. They regard each other as kindred spirits who both suffer social ostracism. The girl is the metaphorical line in the sand that will or will not be crossed.

Directors Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel have truly taken Deadgirl to the darkest of the dark side. They begin by establishing the bond between Rickie and JT, who gain our sympathy because they’re the underdogs of teen society. School is a bummer because they can’t relate to the other kids their age and they feel they can never be accepted. The film really takes off with the discovery of the chained girl. We see how JT regards her as a chance to get what has been elusive, no matter that it constitutes rape, while Rickie’s response is influenced by morals and ethics.

Eventually, other characters become aware of the body in the hospital basement and things get out of control. The girl progresses from passive to frighteningly aggressive, even though she’s bound. These scenes elicit genuine terror, since for a long period, the girl does little more than moan, turn her head a bit, and stare.

No explanation of the girl’s presence is given. Is she a discarded Frankenstein-like experiment, the hidden object of a psychopath, or some kind of supernatural entity? We’re never told, and that keeps us guessing. The main question is really how the boys’ discovery of the living corpse will play out.

Segan and Fernandez are very good as the pals. Though they look older than your typical high schooler, they thoroughly sell their characters and have some meaty scenes with natural dialogue. Their on-screen chemistry is excellent and you believe them as buddies. The toughest job in the film, however, is Jenny Spain’s. Naked for the entire picture except for face and body make-up showing various stages of deterioration, she has no dialogue yet is genuinely terrifying—initially because we don’t know why she’s there, later because she exhibits feral anger and strength. This is a role that many actors would spurn, but Spain is thoroughly committed and is the linchpin of the film’s palpable creepiness.

Directors Harel and Sarmiento know how to create and sustain suspense. The film starts slow and accelerates quickly when Rickie and JT discover the girl. As they wonder what to do, we want to learn more. Who is she? How did she get there? What will the boys do? The directors keep cutting to the prone, naked girl, sometimes still, other times moving slightly, so that she’s always foremost in our mind. This isn’t the kind of film that relies on horror cliches. It keeps us riveted with its unique, bizarre plot and unsettling images.

Deadgirl was captured digitally by director of photography Harris Charalambous with Thomson VIPER FilmStream cameras and finished as a 2K Digital Intermediate in the aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The picture is sharp and distinct for the most part. Early scenes near the high school look as if the color has been intentionally desaturated to diminish its vibrance. Hues darken when Rickie and JT enter the abandoned asylum, though there’s enough natural light coming through windows to see clearly. When they go down to the windowless basement, they’re dimly lit and enveloped by shadows, which contributes to a foreboding atmosphere. The dead girl’s body is covered with discolorations and dirt. Later, blood dominates many scenes and stands out among the gray, shadowy surroundings.

There are two audio options: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and English 2.0 LPCM. Subtitle options are English and English SDH. Dialogue is clear and distinct. The dead girl never speaks, but groans, grunts, makes guttural sounds, and later screams. Sound effects include three gun shots, a dog growling and barking, intestinal rumblings, and the pummeling of bodies during a fight. Joseph Bauer’s score is subtly eerie.

Bonus materials on the Region A 15th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray include the following:

• Audio Commentary with Cast and Crew
• Audio Commentary with Actor Jenny Spain
• Interview with Co-Director Gadi Harel (14:29)
• Interview with Writer Trent Haaga (24:13)
• Interview with Actor Noah Segan (17:55)
• Interview with Actor Shiloh Fernandez (9:05)
• Interview with Special Make-up Effects Artist and Designer Jim Ojala (30:11)
• Exquisite Corpse: The Making of Deadgirl (7:14)
• Jenny Spain’s Audition (1:58)
• Deleted Scenes (5 in all – 7:01)
• The Make-up Effects of Deadgirl with Jim Ojala (10:46)
• Behind the Scenes of Deadgirl (4:05)
• Production Gallery (3:03)
• Theatrical Trailer (2:26)
• Deadgirl Shooting Script (10:00)
• Deadgirl 2: First Draft (10:00)

Audio Commentary with Cast and Crew – Directors Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel, director of photography Harris Charalambous, writer Trent Haaga, editor Philip Blackford, music composer Joseph Bauer, and actors Noah Segan and Shiloh Fernandez comprise the key cast and crew members who converse about plot and themes of the film. They discuss the concept of Deadgirl, its filming locations, casting, difficulties of filming, and brief shooting schedule, and mention some of the equipment used. Cuts to black are used mostly because there wasn’t enough footage for more artful transitions. The filmmakers talk about the ethics of Rickie and JT’s decision after they discover the dead girl.

Audio Commentary with Actor Jenny Spain – Jenny Spain, who plays the title role in Deadgirl, refers to the film as an exploration of the unconventional dark side of the human psyche. She was intrigued by the script because “it hit home” and dealt with teenage peer pressure when young people are under stress to make the right decisions. Living in the Midwest, she made an audition tape at home and submitted it. She squatted animal-like, grunted, rolled her eyes, made guttural sounds and stared madly. She makes a point of saying that Deadgirl is not a zombie film. Marcel and Gadi, the directors, were determined to bring the script to the screen in the spirit it was written. She notes that it was very hot on the gurney underneath the plastic. She was comfortable with the nudity and wanted the other actors to be comfortable as well. She trusted the directors and crew to protect her and assure her comfort during filming. Everyone on set was professional. She goes into detail about how she navigated more sensitive scenes. “You’re giving your soul to play a part.” The ending is open rather than definitive.

Interview with Co-Director Gadi Harel – Harel was impressed with how the plot built. He first heard the story orally. It was “hard to shake off.” He worked at Troma Pictures where he met writer Trent Haaga. He wishes he could have gotten more of Haaga’s scripts because they were so good. Many actors read for the role of the dead girl. Jenny Spain’s audition was raw, unlike that of any other woman who auditioned. The actors brought their characters to life. Shiloh was recommended by a casting agent. He was sweet and vulnerable, a good fit for the role of Rickie. Harel met special effects designer Jim Ojala through Haaga. His effects were “Troma-esque.” In the first make-up, the girl looked too much like a zombie, which Harel didn’t want. When the film was presented at a midnight showing at the Toronto Film Festival, the audience reaction was rewarding.

Interview with Writer Trent Haaga – The idea for Deadgirl emerged while Haaga was working at Troma. While filming on location for a Troma film, he was scouting locations for what would become Deadgirl. He wanted to make a film about nihilistic teenagers. The screenplay was written in 2000 but he was told not to show it to potential backers if he intended to have a career in the film industry because it was unmakable and unwatchable, so he shelved it for several years. Haaga was surprised when $250,000 was raised to make the picture. He was present for open castings. The direction given to women auditioning for the title role was, “Act feral.” He told them there would be a lot of nudity. Jenny Spain was eventually cast. “Jenny is a super trooper,” Haaga notes. Small rewrites were made even though “the fat had already been trimmed.”

Interview with Actor Noah Segan – Segan talks about when he first saw the script and his reaction to his character in the film. He notes the shooting schedule was only 18 days, and many of them were difficult. He especially found it hard to be physical in JT’s violent scenes, comically noting “I’m a Jew from New York.” Segan discusses his working relationship with Jenny Spain and his reaction to the graphic special effects. He shares his thoughts about working in the horror genre, working opposite Shiloh Fernandez, and working for two directors.

Interview with Actor Shiloh Fernandez – Shiloh regarded the film not as horror but as an insightful look at high school friendships. He notes that Jenny Spain, despite the difficulty of the role, was thoroughly committed. Fernandez was originally up for the role of JT, but he identified more with Rickie and was allowed to audition for that role. Writer Trent Haaga, who was on set during filming, was an integral part of the making of the film. When Fernandez saw the film with an audience, he was surprised at how different it was from the film he was making. Of the films he’s been in, Deadgirl still ranks as one of his favorites.

Interview with Special Make-up Effects Artists and Designer Jim Ojala – Ojala goes into detail about the various special effects he created for Deadgirl. The most difficult was the one in which pus is squeezed out of a bullet hole. A cast was made of actor Jenny Spain’s midsection with a gooey substance pumped through tubes. Ojala notes how important it is to have a rapport with the actors. Each day, he had to apply full-body make-up to Jenny, reflecting various stages of decomposition. At the Toronto Film Festival, there was some blowback from the audience when questions of ethics arose. Ojala had hired an assistant who didn’t read the script until the day before shooting was to begin. She was so appalled at the subject matter that she quit, and Ojala had to find a replacement within hours.

Exquisite Corpse: The Making of Deadgirl – Gadi Harel and Marcel Sarmiento speak about how they both were fascinated by the script. They felt it was unlike anything they had seen or read before. The story is about the friendship of Rickie and JT and what happens once they find the girl. The film is an allegory for relationships and youth and how we’re raised to treat women. It’s also a coming-of-age story, since it plays on fears of intimacy, losing a friend, and recognizing who you are. The life you imagine will often not turn out the way you hope.

Jenny Spain’s Audition – In this homemade audition video, Jenny Spain grunts, stares with crazed eyes, and paces hunched over like a stalking animal.

The Make-up Effects of Deadgirl with Jim Ojala – In slideshow format, photos show Jenny Spain’s full body make-up at various stages, behind-the-scenes footage, and stills of other gruesome effects in the film.

Behind the Scenes of Deadgirl – In this slideshow presentation, still photos depict cast and crew on location, cameras used in filming, actors in make-up, and the setting up of special effects.

Production Gallery – Black and white photos, several per screen, show scenes from Deadgirl. Also shown are poster mock-ups and a German rating letter.

Deadgirl Shooting Script – The script by Trent Haaga is listed as “Final Shooting Script 5/1, Copyrighted 2007.” Each page is shown in slideshow format.

Deadgirl 2: First Draft – Completed 6/13/2010, the script by Trent Haaga is shown page by page in slideshow format.

Deadgirl is not for everyone, but it’s certainly an original. There are strong elements of horror but it transcends genre. The conflict between two lifelong friends drives narrative until it reflects on what it means to be human. It’s a disturbing film that explores the conflict between desire and morality.

- Dennis Seuling