Fantasia 2024 Film Review - The Dead Thing (2024)

**Sexual intensity and emotional co-dependency in a swipe-fixated society are distorted through a supernatural lens in this enthusiastic app-based horror thriller The Dead Thing.**

Self-centred Alex, played by the excellent Blu Hunt, is trapped in a relentless cycle of swiping and fucking on the dating site Friktion. Unfulfilled and unhappy she drifts from each bar hook-up and empty one-night stand to the next.

When Alex matches with the magnetic Kyle they embark on a romantic encounter of instant connections and carnal compatibility. However, when he subsequently ghosts her she succumbs to insecurity and paranoia and stalks him. Nothing can prepare her for what her unhealthy curiosity uncovers as Alex descends into a disorientating state of paranormal manipulation.

Elric Kane directs this engaging genre think piece to critique the domination of dating apps as the main conduit for modern relationship building and sexual satisfaction. These observations are consistently on the money as he targets intimacy expectations over emotional investment as a destructive force. His agenda has a subtle narrative complexity that is both relatable and onitory.

The viewer is invited to stand in judgment over Alex as we witness her embrace the inexhaustible narcissistic supply that Friktion offers, and struggle with the less artificial interactions of the workplace. By proxy, we are compelled to question our own attitudes towards dating culture, its accompanying FOMO, and the entitlement to plumb a bottomless pool of prospective partners.

When the film’s twist is divulged, we are dragged down a dusty sideroad of distraction that only serves to muddy the previously clear waters. The revelations leave Alex confused and vulnerable, and she’s not the only one.

Introducing such an enigmatic presence into the sterile ecosystem of app-matching could have been uproarious. Regretfully there are far too many questions than answers to make it legitimate. Too often the film sacrifices logic and spiritual exposition to project creepy scares and spring unearned surprises.

The core extrasensory concept of The Dead Thing is nothing new, however, the context is relatively fresh and presents serious opportunities for a satirical takedown of toxic masculinity and its controlling mantras. Kane’s movie doesn’t miss all of them, and it’s low-key satisfying in parts, yet the overall fuzziness of the premise robs them of potency. Full marks though for resisting the urge to exploit one particularly fabulous play on words and leaving that for the audience to do for themselves.

There are some horror thrills to be had as otherworldly jealousy hijacks Alex’s life, but gore fans will be left rocking in the corner by the camera cuts and bloodless depiction of violence. We also get some reflection-based shocks but they are also corrupted by inconsistency and befuddlement.

Well-acted and well-shot with a sincere appetite to dissect the troublesome pursuit of relationships in a social media-driven cesspit Kane’s debut film will find a cathartic audience. However, it also illustrates that introducing horror elements into an otherwise solid premise requires correspondent credibility and clarity.