Last on my list of movies to see this
year at Fantasia was the Argentinian ghost flick Memory of the Dead.
After the death of her husband, Alicia
(Lola Berthet) calls all of his closest friends and relatives back to
his mansion for a special wake. However, Alicia has something more
sinister planned and when the clock strikes midnight, all hell breaks
loose.
I was back and forth on this film as I
was watching it. Although director ValentÃn Javier Diment does a lot
with his small budget, there were a few things about this production
that never gelled with me. This is a huge shame because the idea was
something I could have sunk my teeth into.
I think it mainly comes down to the
choice to shoot the film digitally. Diment was clearly influenced by
the gialli, as filmmakers like Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci were all
over this film. The problem was that there was something very
off putting about seeing that aesthetic in HD, instead of its native
35mm. The closest thing I can liken this to is the “uncanny
valley” effect of video games or visual effects, where something is
the same, but slightly different, so you're brain rejects it. I have
no doubt that if Cattet & Forzani's 2009 giallo Amer had been
shot digitally, I would have felt the same way. Memory of the Dead
still had a very colourful and unique look, but was nevertheless
often distractingly obtuse.
Lola Berthet (left) & Luis Ziembrowski look on in Memory of the Dead |
The setup was handled well enough, with
Diment briskly introducing the seven or eight characters that are
gathered together. The transition into the meat of the picture
seemed a little shaky, as rules are quickly established and then
broken. I think where the film had me the most was when it was
skipping around, showing all the different ghosts that the characters
encounter throughout the house. The cast was very good, but I found
that almost all of them were unlikable in some way. When the one
character I had latched onto was offed, I pretty much lost all
connection to the piece.
A lot of people have likened Memory of
the Dead to Evil Dead 2, but - apart from two key moments - I'd say it more resembles the first few
Dark Castle films, House on Haunted Hill & 13 Ghosts. Even then,
I don't think its mix of CG and practical was handled as well as
those two films. Diment loads most of his makeup effects in the back
half of the movie for some reason, where an even spread may have been
more effective.
Having said all that, I did like the
ending, which was a small victory I suppose. As I indicated, I was
never completely out of it, but never fully onboard either. Although
I am well aware that the adoption of digital was probably a budgetary
decision, I feel the money saved does not equate to the damage done
to the finished product.
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