Written by: Sam Santiago
Every so often, a film comes along that sounds like someone took Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and a particularly feverish late night nightmare, tossed them into a grave, and waited to see what crawled back out.
That film is Dead Lover.
After making the festival circuit and turning heads with its bizarre blend of horror, comedy, romance, and outright absurdity, Lightbulb Film Distribution has announced that Dead Lover will arrive on major digital platforms beginning June 22, with a Blu-ray release following on September 7.
The film first gained attention during its theatrical run thanks in part to its unforgettable "Stink-O-Vision" gimmick. This delightfully disgusting addition encouraged audiences to immerse themselves in the film's foul-smelling world fully. Thankfully for viewers at home, the digital release appears to come without the accompanying aroma.
Written and directed by Grace Glowicki, Dead Lover tells the story of a lonely gravedigger whose life changes when she finally meets the man of her dreams. Unfortunately, fate has other plans. After her newfound love drowns at sea, the grief stricken gravedigger turns to increasingly bizarre scientific experiments in an attempt to bring him back from the dead.
As horror fans know, resurrecting the deceased rarely goes according to plan.
The result is a darkly comedic descent into grave robbing, mad science, body horror, and unexpected romance that feels tailor made for viewers who appreciate their horror weird, theatrical, and more than a little grotesque.
WATCH THE TRAILER FOR DEAD LOVER BELOW
The film stars Glowicki alongside Ben Petrie, Leah Doz, and Lowen Morrow, with each performer taking on multiple roles throughout the story. That theatrical approach has helped give Dead Lover a unique identity among recent indie horror releases.
While major studios continue chasing familiar franchises and established intellectual properties, Dead Lover feels like the kind of bizarre passion project horror fans are always searching for. A strange little creature stitched together from romance, horror, comedy, and the sort of midnight movie energy that often grows into something much bigger over time.
If the premise of a corpse scented gravedigger resurrecting her drowned lover through questionable science sounds appealing, Dead Lover may already have your name etched on a tombstone.
Dead Lover arrives on digital platforms June 22 and on Blu-ray September 7.