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TADFF Review: ‘I’ll Take your Dead’ is a Strong, Hearty Genre Stew

Published

5 years ago

October 31, 2018

With the release of their newest film, I’ll Take Your Dead, director Chad Archibald (Bite, The Heretics) and Black Fawn Films have delivered their strongest work to date. The film mixes elements of a suspense thriller, tragic ghost story, intense home invasion, and coming-of-age drama into an emotional journey for both the characters and the audience. It’s a genre stew that’s flavored with bitter tension and complex warmth – a combination that is perfectly suited to the harsh rural winter setting.

From a script written by Jayme Laforest, the film follows William (Aidan Devine), a humble and quiet man with a simple job – he makes dead bodies disappear. This is not a job he takes pride in, but, through circumstances out of his control, his country farm house has become a dumping ground for the casualties of the gang related murders in the city. His daughter Gloria (Ava Preston) has become used to men dropping off corpses and is even convinced that some of them are haunting their house. After a woman’s body is dumped at the house, William begins his meticulous process when he realizes she’s not actually dead. As the gang activity increases, William patches the woman up and holds her against her will until he can figure out what to do with her. As they begin to develop a very unusual respect for each other, the woman’s murderers get word that she’s still alive and make plan to go finish what they started.

via Black Fawn Films

I’ll Take Your Dead is undeniably a character-driven film. The main action is not surrounding the disposal of bodies or the lost souls that haunt Gloria – it’s the shifts and balances between our three leads.

Jess Salgueiro as Jackie skillfully flips between the roles of panicked captive, wary heroine, and caring surrogate sister. The scenes between Salgueiro and Ava Preston as Gloria are rich with nuance; the audience can gain volumes of information from their physical movements and subtle reactions to one another.

via Black Fawn Films

Aidan Devine carries a stillness that William wields as a shield when acting as his efficient alter-ego. Where Devine really shines is the moments when William is caught off-guard; he slips the stony exterior and we see flashes of the worry and anger that he’s trying to hide. One particular scene – in which William mistakes puberty for injury – carries an avalanche of embarrassment and it’s incredibly endearing. As a single father who intentionally isolates his daughter for her safety, William finally recognizes that he’s far out of his depth.

Admittedly, I did find that the father-daughter bond was plagued by a repetitive, heavy-handed gesture for the sake of emotional connection. It’s meant to communicate the link between the two, but in the film’s 78-minute run time, we see this hand gesture a few times – and with increased frequency – in the third act.

It reads as a rushed attempt to remind the audience of their strong father-daughter relationship, trying to build emotional resonance, and it’s not really necessary. It’s a point that doesn’t need stressing – the actors do a wonderful job of expressing that connection on their own (or maybe it just reminded me too much of the “face waterfall” from Face/Off).

The ghost elements also feel a tad rushed, but with the brisk run time, that would be the logical place to trim the fat for a more robust development in the main plot.

via Black Fawn Films

Overall, I’ll Take Your Dead is strongest when it focuses on the themes of family, loss, and the cycle of violence. Everyone in the film is stuck in a lifestyle surrounded by violence – to the point that young Gloria has completely normalized the death that lives around her.

Every character just scrapes by, fighting to get closer to that dream of a better life. But the isolation that can be found in such a crowded lifestyle is so oppressive that any resistance seems futile, and sometimes, good people are pushed to bad things. I’ll Take Your Dead recognizes that family is more than just blood, and the family you surround yourself with will help to inform your future.

For more on I’ll Take Your Dead, click here to read my interview with the cast at Toronto After Dark Film Fest, and click here to view the first official trailer. The film is currently on the festival circuit, so keep your eye out for screenings near you.

Keep up to date on this film and where it’s playing by following their Facebook page.

via Black Fawn Films

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Jake Gyllenhaal’s Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’ Series Gets Early Release Date

Published

2 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Jake Gyllenhaal’s limited series Presumed Innocent is dropping on AppleTV+ on June 12 instead of June 14 as originally planned. The star, whose Road House reboot has brought mixed reviews on Amazon Prime, is embracing the small screen for the first time since his appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s in ‘Presumed Innocent’

Presumed Innocent is being produced by David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of Scott Turow’s 1990 film in which Harrison Ford plays a lawyer doing double duty as an investigator looking for the murderer of his colleague.

These types of sexy thrillers were popular in the ’90s and usually contained twist endings. Here’s the trailer for the original:

According to Deadline, Presumed Innocent doesn’t stray far from the source material: “…the Presumed Innocent series will explore obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”

Up next for Gyllenhaal is the Guy Ritchie action movie titled In the Grey scheduled for release in January 2025.

Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series set to stream on AppleTV+ starting June 12.

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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

21 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

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News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

23 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.