Never in a million years did I think we would be celebrating the 15th anniversary of Deadgirl (2008), yet here we are. If you’ve seen the film, then you already know it’s a blistering tale elevated by powerhouse performances from its young actors that sends the audience on a dark and twisted journey that’s not easily forgotten.
Directed by Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel, the film was met with infamy and acclaim, taking the zombie film into uncharted territory. Unearthed Films is bringing the modern horror classic to Blu-ray on October 24th in what is sure to be considered the most definitive edition available.
Two high school pals, J.T. (Noah Segan) and Rickie (Shiloh Fernandez), decide to skip school one day and bust into an abandoned asylum to raise a little hell. What they weren’t expecting was to find a body wrapped in plastic, a female body. Upon closer inspection, the dead girl isn’t exactly dead.
The two boys grow obsessed with her and how she may have ended up there. The teenage mind can go to disturbing places, and they begin to perform their own twisted experiments on her that lead them to a place no one should ever go.
When I think about Deadgirl, the first thing that comes to mind is just how deeply layered the story and script are. I was also really surprised at the time the film was scripted by Trent Haaga, who is probably still best known for his work with Troma. This is nothing like a Troma movie and is more akin to the social commentary aspects of horror and zombie films in the vein of George Romero.
Once you realize the intentions of one of the lead characters, your stomach churns. It’s filled with teen angst, peer pressure, and other emotions the typical teenager goes through, but the situation sends them off into the darkest realms possible. Segan and Fernandez are terrific, and a major shout-out to Jenny Spain, who plays the titular character, for giving such a brave and horrifying performance.
It’s not without its flaws, but is still fully effective in its attempt to shock and take you into a dark nightmare.
Unearthed Films loads this release with brand-new features like interviews with co-director Gadi Harel, writer Trent Haaga, actors Noah Segan and Shiloh Fernandez, and effects artist Jim Ojala. There are two photo galleries, a BD-ROM with PDFs of the shooting script and a first draft of the script for a sequel. The disc also ports over all the previous features from the original release.
If you think you can handle the subject matter, Deadgirl is a modern classic that never pulls punches and leaves your head a mess.
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