Dead & Beautiful (2021) Review

In David Verbeek’s intermittently impressive Dead & Beautiful, the super-wealthy main characters display trademarks of the Euro-trash vampire before they turn nosferatu. Perfectly groomed, immaculately tailored, and brimming with privileged ennui, from the outset they are kissing cousins to the sun-dodgers in Polidori’s The Vampyre, the novels of Anne Rice, or the cast from The Hunger.

Presumably this is why they are surprised, but not particularly fazed, to discover they have sprouted unretractable fangs when awakening from an expensive “spiritual cleansing” ritual. Bin-Ray (Philip Juan) and Alex (Yen Tsao) cannot wait to lord over mere mortals, particularly a kidnapped woman. Anastasia (Anna Marchenko) is eager to Instagram her condition.

More wary of what all this could lead to are Mason (Gijs Blom) and Lulu (Aviis Zhong). For these children of billionaires, explanation of how this has happened must take the form of a faux TED Talk presentation from Bin-Ray.

Dead & Beautiful is a strange beast. By turns enthralling and frustrating, it plays like a good short story told by someone so rich they often seem too bored to finish the tale. The pacing could be described as stately, but Verbeek should have challenged himself to lose another ten minutes off the runtime.

None-too-subtle points about vampirism being a metaphor for modern economic systems would remain even if the film came in under 90-minutes.

But we have a suspicion this was all part of the writer-director’s plan. Having been born into absolute luxury, how could his protagonists be expected to do anything as plebeian as working up a sweat? They already have mastery over their surroundings, so simply being is enough for them. Usefully for the budget, this also means avoiding expensive vampire FX (these bloodsuckers are too vain to not cast a reflection).

In this way, Dead & Beautiful is a modern equivalent to those “Cinema du Look” French films of the 1980s. Style is the substance here, with gorgeous, young, alienated characters blankly moving through an exquisitely photographed metropolis (an unnamed Taipei).

Here is where Verbeek’s film truly succeeds, often dazzling the eye in a manner reminiscent of Luc Besson or Jean-Jacques Beineix. All more satisfying than the film’s late-in-the-day stabs at character and emotion that come across as “Let them have cake and eat it too.” Anyone paying attention will guess a couple of the climactic twists, which would have landed better had they been seeded earlier.

The attractive cast manage to do something with their roles beyond being mannequins, and space is made for amusing comic touches (e.g., Anastasia’s decision to “identify” as vampire on social media, COVID masks still used by the undead, but now to hide their fangs).

Much like a freshly turned vampire, Dead & Beautiful is awkward, but does carry a strange allure.

Dead & Beautiful is out this week exclusively on SHUDDER.

Movie Rating:★★★☆☆ 

Dead & Beautiful “A Simple Blood Test” Clip:

YouTube video
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Rob Daniel

Freelance scribbler and OFCS member, Rob rather enjoy watching the flickers. Producer/co-host of @MovieRobcast electric-shadows.com anchor.fm/movierobcast twitter.com/rob_a_daniel

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