Dead and Beautiful (2021) RLJE Films
Directed By: David Verbeek
Starring: Gijs Blom, Philip Juan, Anna Marchenko, Yes Tsao, Aviis Zhong
Plot Summary: A group of young and spoiled rich kids turn into vampires after a night out, changing the course of their lives and driving a wedge between them all.
In a nutshell, Dead and Beautiful is 1987’s The Lost Boys and Cruel Intentions (1999) mixed with social media influencer, Gen Z culture. Indeed, there is something interesting about the idea of bored, rich, spoiled young people turning into blood suckers. David Verbeek does a solid job at crafting some nice worldbuilding. From the first few minutes of the movie, we understand who these characters are. Thanks to some stellar photography and production design, the movie truly does live up to the “beautiful” part of the title. Verbeek doesn’t shy away from constructing a bleak and at times oppressive atmosphere, and when pulled back, we see how sad and hollow the characters are despite having everything. I also will give him a lot of credit for some very clever foreshadowing and dark humor.
The thing is though, despite a premise that has almost unlimited potential, the movie starts unraveling. The movie’s pacing is awkward and feels like it loses some very interesting concepts in favor of heavy-handed social commentary and scenes that feel like filler. It’s frustrating because I think there is a lot more of its own premise it could have explored instead of taking us on needless detours that aren’t as thought provoking. David Verbeek clearly knows how to make a film that has depth and substance. For me though, it never pushes these concepts and themes far enough. The ending is something I can see being very divisive, and again, I thought it undercut its own clever narrative whilst also opening up a can of plot holes and gaps in logic.
Dead and Beautiful is certainly at times a clever outing but is ultimately dead with a narrative that never lives up to its full potential.
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Big film nerd and TCM Obsessed. Author of The Ultimate Guide to Strange Cinema from Schiffer Publishing. Resume includes: AMC’s The Bite, Scream Magazine etc. Love all kinds of movies and television and have interviewed a wide range of actors, writers, producers and directors. I currently am a regular co-host on the podcast The Humanoids from the Deep Dive and have a second book in the works from Bear Manor.
