Deadgirl
(2008) 101 Min.
Rated: R (rape, nudity, gore)
Country: USA
Director: Trent Haaga
Starring: Shiloh Fernandez, Noah Segan, Candice Accola
Links: IMDB | Wikipedia
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Two friends stumble upon the body of a naked woman tied up.
Synopsis:
Rickie (Fernandez) and JT (Segan) decide to skip school and drink at an abandoned state hospital. They arrive and drink for a bit. They have fun throwing around objects and breaking windows.
JT then suggests checking out the tunnels. He explains how the really violent high-risk mental patients had to be taken between buildings through the underground tunnel system. While they’re in the tunnel they hear a low growl. To their surprise a dog is behind them growling. They dash off and hide.
They manage to climb out of a vent into another room with a rusted door. They pry open the door and find a room with a girl tied up and naked. JT is more intent upon keeping her for himself an Rickie would rather free her and get out of the place. JT punches Rickie in the face and tells him to go if he wants to, but JT plans to stay with the girl.
Rickie leaves and goes home. He’s about to call emergency number, but his mother’s alcoholic friend interrupts and Rickie is put off. Later he fires a gun in an alley to relieve tension. JT shows up and tells him that Rickie should go back to the abandoned hospital with him.
Against his better judgement he returns. Back in the tunnel, JT explains that he tried to mess with her but she wouldn’t stop kicking and trying to bite him, so JT hit her but she wouldn’t stop. He began to hit her really hard. Rickie panics and goes into the room to see the girl. JT pulls away his gun and shoots the girl.
Rickie faints but when he comes around JT explains that the girl never dies. JT explains that earlier he broke her neck and she still came back to life. Rickie thinks she’s kind of awesome. JT contemplates the girl and thinks that they should have sex with her. Rickie wants no part of it but asks JT to swear that it’s only their secret and they tell no one else.
Rickie spends his days brooding at school and eyeing a popular red-headed girl named Joann. He goes home and daydream thinking about Joann and her face turns into the creepy undead girl. Rickie bikes over to the hospital as quickly as he can.
Once there he walks in on Wheeler, a classmate, having sex with the Deadgirl. JT is standing by smoking a cigarette. JT tries to convince Rickie to join them and have a turn with her, but Rickie ultimately refuses.
Rickie trades his bike for a pair of bolt-cutters and heads back into the room with the girl.
Rickie clips off the chains on her arms and she grabs his arm. She strong, but he’s able to push her hand off his. He hides as JT and Wheeler return.
JT is about to have sex with her when she turns and scratches his face. Both the boys fight with her and are able to tie her down.
Rickie goes back to school and frets over things. He finds out Wheeler is telling other kids at school that if they give him $10 he’ll show them something.
Back at the hospital JT is spending more and more time with the Deadgirl and has made a few putrid holes on her body.
At school Rickie talks to Joann who reveals they kissed once when they were 12 and Rickie never got over it. She tells him it was a long time ago. Later on Joann’s jock boyfriend Johnny beats up Wheeler and Rickie. Wheeler blurts out that they get all the pussy they want from their own whore.
Johnny and his friend Dwyer take Wheeler out to the hospital. Wheeler reluctantly reveals the Deadgirl. Rickie coaxes Johnny to stick his penis in her mouth and she bites at him. Johnny punches the deadgirl a few times before collapsing. He’s bleeding everywhere. JT warns them not to go to the police otherwise all of them will go to jail.
Rickie goes to Joann and tells her that whatever she hears he tried to stop these things from happening.
While JT is with the Deadgirl the guard dog walks in and jumps on top of her body. Suddenly the girl bites him and blood splatters. JT remarks that they don’t have to worry about the dog anymore.
Johnny’s stomach starts to hurt a lot during class so he runs to the restroom. He basically implodes and his innards fall out from rot.
Dwyer tries to cut the deadgirl free, but JT stops him and while he’s distracted deadgirl bites him. JT announces that Johnny’s dead and now Dwyer is dead. Anyone bitten by the deadgirl is like her. JT hatches a plan.
JT and Wheeler park near a gas station and wait to see if any hot girls stop by. The only one to stop by is a slightly chubby middle aged woman but they go for her anyway. When JT tries to hit her on the head with a tire iron she starts to punch them and takes them out easily.
JT and Wheeler return to the car and Joann stops them. She asks them what they did to her boyfriend and JT promises to show her.
Rickie goes down to the tunnel with a machete and finds Joann tied up with the deadgirl. JT tries to convince Rickie that Joann would never go with him and that it would be better to let them turn her into the undead creature. Wheeler gets too close to Joann and tries to touch her causing Rickie to cut off his arm. In the confusion Joann unties the deadgirl and she runs towards wheeler attacking him.
Rickie and Joann try to run away but they’re stopped by a door. Rickie leaves Joann to look for another exit. While he looks Rickie returns to see Joann gone. He sees the deadgirl biting JT and she turns, runs toward Rickie and pushes him aside so she can get out. The deadgirl runs out of the building, free at last.
Joann walks up to Rickie. She’s bleeding from a wound JT inflicted on her. Rickie tries to tell her he loves her but she just wants to go home.
Rickie sits in shock for a while as she dies.
Skip ahead in time and Rickie seems happier. He’s not brooding so much at school. We find that he’s going back to the hospital. In the room tied up is a Joann-deadgirl waiting with vacant eyes.
Review:
The concept that friendships fraying over worsening trouble has been done before and done better. It seems that in Deadgirl everything is shallow and even morals are tossed aside. Instead, all the guys in the film will easily agree to having sex with a girl or half-dead creature without consent.
It speaks poorly for men when 100% of the boys in the film ultimately decide that rape is the best option when confronted with a nude tied up woman.
At first I thought the girl might represent Lilith as JT could no longer leave the hospital, he was so fixated on sex. But then more zombie elements were introduced and it’s just a jumbled mess of a film that wants to carry a message. The message probably is “men will rape a woman if she’s tied down”. Wow. Thanks, movie.