Have Cheetah,Will View #458 – “Dead Dicks” (2019)

Its 7:38 pm
9 days coffee free

Okay,I want to go on record in saying this is the WORST title to a film we have reviewed here. Now that I got that off my chest….let the review start.

  I wasn’t expecting anything from our friend Ray over at Artsploitation Films so getting “Dead Dicks”was a complete surprise. Being that they bring us some truly outstanding films from all over the world like “We” and “Luciferina“,I checked to see where “Dicks” came from and saw it came from the Great White North,meaning Canada. Despite the name of the film,I was curious so I grabbed the cheetah and settled in….

 

  The film starts off with a very disturbing suicide scene and as the audience is adjusting to what they have watched,we see a figure cut across the dead person sitting in a chair…..We meet Becca (Jillian Harris) who is receiving some great news,she has been accepted into a highly skilled nuring class but will only have a week to settle her affairs before the program starts. She is at first excited but that reaction is tempered as she tries to call her brother Richie (Heston Horwin). Becca leaves a message and then heads to work at a local bar.

   I gotta share a pet peeve of mine at this point. Why do films keep insisting showing doctors and nurses smoking on screen? I know some do in the real world but seeing it on a TV show or film just bothers the hell outta me. I say this because there is a scene where Becca is shown smoking and its a big downer to me.
   Anyways,Becca keeps trying to call Richie with no luck and she is getting worried,its plain to see this isn’t Becca’s first rodeo with her brother not answering her. She asks her fellow bartender,who also is used to this,if she can do a check on Richie and she’ll be back in 30 minutes.

 Beeca arrives at Richie’s apartment where she can hear loud music from Richie’s place. The downstairs tennant Matt (Matt Keyes) has had enough of Richie and threatens to call the property manager,Becca soothes him and then goes into Richie’s apartment.
   She finds his dead body hanging in the closet and starts crying,she gets him down and is sitting with the body when suddenly Richie walks up naked and eating a bowl of cereal. Of course this freaks Becca out and Richie proceeds to tell his sister that he did indeed kill himself but then has been reborn through what appears to be a large vagina on a wall.
   Richie then shows Becca his three other bodies that have resulted from his various suicide attempts. As Becca struggles to take in what she is seeing,Richie is also struggling because each birth has him coming back at the same age he is when he has killed himself. He also realizes that nothing about him has changed,he is still the same troubled soul he was before killing himself,the rebirth is doing nothing 
to help his mental state. 

   After some rather surreal hijinks,a nasty twist occurs and Becca and Richie have to face off each and share some sad truths about their relationship. It turns that both brother and sister are far damaged then they realized and their going to figure each other out if they hope to escape their ordeal……..

  This is a very interesting film with lots to say but having a bit of an identity crisis in doing so.  Co-directors/writers Chris Bavota and Lee Paula Springer want “Dicks” to be a black comedy but suicide is a extremely tough nut to mine laughs at. They added in a surreal sci-fi element in the large vagina and the rebirths and still it doesn’t mix with suicide. They decide to have Becca and Richie discuss their relationship in detail at Richie’s apartment and this is where “Dead Dicks” shines.
   Both young adults have each carried the other so much that they have become entwined with each other. Richie can’t take charge of his mental issues while Becca is afraid to stand up and live her own life.   Instead of standing for herself knowing she has done all she can for Richie and letting go,she allows him to control her life and create unhappiness and guilt within Becca.

  Harris and Horwin have a good chemistry as they come across as brother and sister,the sense and emotion damage after years of dealing with each other comes across crystal clear.
I think “Dead Dicks” could have been a fine character study of Becca and Richie in of itself but trying to add in the sci-fi and horror elements just don’t work very well and end up sinking this film.  A noble misfire but with good intentions….

“Dead Dicks” has a run time of 83 minutes and should be considered a “R” rating. Special features include a director’s commentary.
You can buy a copy of the film by going to the website of Artsploitation Films.

The cheetah and I gave “Dead Dicks” two thumbs up,we think the second half of this film needs to be seen.