Death

A surreal arthouse drama with horror inflections, the Australian indie film Death, written and directed by filmmaker Anmol Mishra is a journey into the wilderness of one character’s pre-death reflections that becomes a mash-up of memory, nightmare, and mystery. 

Sabrina (brilliantly played by Marigold Pazar) lies bleeding out in a bathtub when we meet her at the beginning of the film. Not long after, we see her frenetically bouncing around her home being tormented by a number of strange goings on and odd sounds. The film then seems to travel back through Sabrina’s story to allow some semblance of a picture to be pieced together to understand how she ended up in the bath. We meet Romeo (David Hecimovic), a boyfriend with his own eccentricities, as well as Wendy (Lauren Johnson) and her boyfriend Mazza (Oliver James Damian - who is having way too much fun in this movie). We learn that Wendy and Sabrina have an intimate past during a chaotic dinner party and things seem to become a hazy odyssey as we work our way back to what we assume is the present. 

There is a conscious decision to muddy the waters and make the narrative lack clarity in order to confuse the viewer - which will be challenging for some viewers but enjoyable for those who like their movies a little unconventional. Mishra is unapologetically bucking the trends of mainstream cinema in favour of something distorted and surreal; from the uncomfortable genre mixes (horror, stoner comedy, experimental etc) to the elaborate filming techniques (drones, rotating cameras etc), it’s an indie film experience rather than classic storytelling. 

The lead actress, Marigold Pazar, carries a lot of the indie horror film Death, especially in the earlier scenes and the welcome energy of Lauren Johnson as Wendy does elevate the movie somewhat. The dinner party sequence is easily the most enjoyable of the film, giving the audience a lot more character interaction to feast upon. Some viewers may find the male characters fairly inconsequential and, at times, difficult to understand, although Mazza’s blowing bubbles scene or chicken jokes do inject some potent humour. 

The quirky score and stoner-comedy gags slightly undermine the idea this is more arthouse than it really is and it is the horror elements which are the most compelling. At times, the messiness derails the movie and it is easy for audience members to be jerked out of the moment and find themselves questioning just what it is they’re meant to be watching. It is ambitious and original though, which deserves points. 

Watch our Video Film Review of Death on our YouTube Channel!

https://youtu.be/kiHgFWCKFzE