I saw this film in Beaverton, Oregon at the drive in, Friday October 2nd 2020.
I Need You Dead wastes no time establishing its main character and premise. Our DOOD in Schmucksville is a ball of nervous rock n roll energy, cruison in his Volv to a squanchy house party.
Manic, playful cuts, make for a fun and engaging perspective of young inebriation turned psychotic symbiosis with a demonic california raisin. Cartoony sound bites and practical puppetry support the visceral, heady trip DOOD embarks on early in the film. Its genuinely funny to see him stumble through his charmed yet cursed little life in Portland.
Somewhere in the middle of the film, were introduced to a wholly different set of characters, that are presumably the directors, producers, and crew. They squabble and struggle to produce the film we are watching, a meta look into what it might take to produce such an increasingly dark take on a young psychotic breakdown in 2020 America.
The film jumps back and forth between these two sets of characters for the remainder of its runtime. Were treated to some seriously gnarly self-harm, schlocky yet tinnitus-tinged bloodbaths, and an awesomely spastic freak-out by DOOD, wonderfully performed.
While writing yourself and your creative process into your own movie is somewhat clever, and requires a ton of bravery, I found myself caring less for that aspect of the story as the film went on. Dont get me wrong, Birdman/Adaptation are some of my favorite films ever, and a lot of I Need You Dead's heady, film within a film energy draws from that. But for a self-aware low budget horror joint, I felt that these two stories could have been separate ideas, and perhaps separate moves all together. While the struggles of the film crew are well performed and fleshed out, it eventually puts DOOD and his struggles in the backseat. Its an odd transition of focus to make from one story to another, eventually culminating in the Director's self destruction. While fun and interesting, I couldnt help but want more of what was working from the beginning of the film: an honest and trippy look at young maniacal punk rock squalor, not the behind the scenes drama of low budget film production. In summary: excellent work, its clear the creative direction, acting, and editing are well understood. Excited to see more of Rocko's work.
I Need You Dead wastes no time establishing its main character and premise. Our DOOD in Schmucksville is a ball of nervous rock n roll energy, cruison in his Volv to a squanchy house party.
Manic, playful cuts, make for a fun and engaging perspective of young inebriation turned psychotic symbiosis with a demonic california raisin. Cartoony sound bites and practical puppetry support the visceral, heady trip DOOD embarks on early in the film. Its genuinely funny to see him stumble through his charmed yet cursed little life in Portland.
Somewhere in the middle of the film, were introduced to a wholly different set of characters, that are presumably the directors, producers, and crew. They squabble and struggle to produce the film we are watching, a meta look into what it might take to produce such an increasingly dark take on a young psychotic breakdown in 2020 America.
The film jumps back and forth between these two sets of characters for the remainder of its runtime. Were treated to some seriously gnarly self-harm, schlocky yet tinnitus-tinged bloodbaths, and an awesomely spastic freak-out by DOOD, wonderfully performed.
While writing yourself and your creative process into your own movie is somewhat clever, and requires a ton of bravery, I found myself caring less for that aspect of the story as the film went on. Dont get me wrong, Birdman/Adaptation are some of my favorite films ever, and a lot of I Need You Dead's heady, film within a film energy draws from that. But for a self-aware low budget horror joint, I felt that these two stories could have been separate ideas, and perhaps separate moves all together. While the struggles of the film crew are well performed and fleshed out, it eventually puts DOOD and his struggles in the backseat. Its an odd transition of focus to make from one story to another, eventually culminating in the Director's self destruction. While fun and interesting, I couldnt help but want more of what was working from the beginning of the film: an honest and trippy look at young maniacal punk rock squalor, not the behind the scenes drama of low budget film production. In summary: excellent work, its clear the creative direction, acting, and editing are well understood. Excited to see more of Rocko's work.