Grace Glowicki’s Dead Lover arrives as Frankenstein tales are having a real cultural moment. With Guillermo del Toro’s film released last autumn (and picking up three Oscars) and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride currently in cinemas, Glowicki’s picture as director, co-writer (with Ben Petrie, who also stars) and star may not directly or obliquely adapt Mary Shelley’s famed 1818 novel. That said, its themes and imagery will bring to mind Frankensteins of adaptations past – and monsters coming back just a little bit wrong when the limits of science and mortality are pushed.
Dead Lover follows a lonely Gravedigger (Glowicki), whose attempts at romance are foiled by the fact that she stinks of corpses. Not even her best attempts at homebrewed perfumes and most seductive pick-up lines delivered in an exaggerated quasi-Cockney accent can attract a mate. But soon, she is captivated by the Lover (Petrie) and thinks her happily ever after is in sight. When he drowns at sea, however, the Gravedigger turns mad scientist in her grief, going to extreme lengths – working with a single finger – to resurrect her dead lover. But the only body available to attach said finger to is that of the Lover’s dead sister, a famous opera singer dead in her prime (Leah Doz). Unintended consequences and hijinks ensue as the dead are not interested in what the living want from them – and the arrival of the opera singer’s own bereaved lover (Lowen Morrow), hellbent on revenge for this outrage, complicates matters further.
There is a deliciously tactile, handmade quality to all aspects of Dead Lover, enhanced by the fact that the cast take on multiple roles throughout, all hiding under dodgy wigs and even more extravagantly faux facial hair. The practical effects might not be realistic, but realism is overrated in tales of mad scientists and monsters; they are big, bold, and masterfully crafted. As the film’s plot moves between each outrageous, campy development, the body parts get more grotesque and the various goos all the more viscous and plentiful. In an age when generative AI can arguably be used to make films (if fully digital unreality can be classed as such), Dead Lover is a welcome return to horror’s most elemental and classic forms.
Lightbulb Film Distribution handle the UK release; the company previously handled the release of another delightfully low-fi Canadian comedy, Mike Cheslik’s Hundred of Beavers, and seem to be making a name for themselves as a home for the weird and wonderful low-budget offerings that would otherwise struggle to find major distribution. They have also turned the release of both films into events, doing a long live tour with the cast and critters of Hundreds of Beavers and now releasing Dead Lover in Stink-o-Vision (a riff on the short-lived Smell-o-Vision of the 1960s). Throughout the film, a series of scents are released into the room, ranging from the abstract (“love”) to the precise (“milkshake”) to the imaginative yet very descriptive (“ghost puke”). It certainly makes for a memorable time at the movies.
As possibly gathered from the previous description. Dead Lover is not for everyone; the visuals alone are stomach-turning in the viscosity and heightened realism of the practical effects (as in, the effects do not necessarily look naturalistic, but the substances are no CGI creation). Add in Stink-o-Vision, and the effect can be overwhelming for those with delicate constitutions or sensitive stomachs. Smells in cinemas is a distinctly retro gimmick – its overbearing artificiality ensured it never really took off in the six decades since its introduction – but one that entirely fits Dead Lover’s commitment to the long, illustrious history of the B-movie. The genre might have had its heyday in the mid-20th century, but Glowicki and company prove that there is always room in filmmaking for ambition beyond the bounds of budget or conventional (or perhaps more accurately, conservative) good taste. This reviewer certainly falls into the wimpier category, though even with my own weaknesses, I wholeheartedly recommend the film.
And after all the grossness and gimmicks, Dead Lover is at its heart both a love story and capital-R, Mary-Shelley-esque Romantic. Cinema has always been attracted to tales of the extreme, and how far one would go for a shot at true love is one of the most relatable tales throughout time. Dead Lover always roots for its characters; the Gravedigger could be accurately described as demented or delusional, but she is also madly, truly in love – with both the Lover and the concept of happily ever afters for all. It is impossible not to cheer on her mad plans and death-defying designs.
For those who adore the throwback and want the full visceral effect, a Stink-o-Vision screening will be one of the most unique experiences on offer in UK cinemas this year. That said, for those worried about keeping their lunch down, the film is well worth catching when Stink-o-Vision-less screenings are offered; it is an aspect that can be foregone without the film losing anything of its anarchic, do-it-yourself spirit.
Dead Lover is gusty and glorious in its go-for-broke grossness. Underneath the cadavers, mutations, belly laughs, outrageous melodrama, and gallons of goo lies a heart of gold. Glowicki’s work is destined for cult classic status.
Dead Lover is now in UK theaters.
Learn more about the film at the IMDB site for the title.
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