So what if a film married the existential elements of THE FOUNTAIN and FRANKENSTEIN? Would you watch it?
Well, Scott David Stewart’s romantic horror flick EXQUISITE CORPSE seems to fit such a mold, even if only in theory and not practice. And we’ve got the trailer below for you to decide if it in any way further compares to the said titles.
Starring Steve Sandavos and Nicole Vicius, the story breaks down like this:
Nicholas is one of the most brilliant young neuroscientists at his medical school and is on the verge of a breakthrough. He just discovered a serum that can bring a dead laboratory rat back to life. He should be reveling in his new discovery, but has other things on this mind. He is in love with his long time crush, Sophia, and has invited her on a weekend trip to a mountain cabin, the perfect setting to express his deep feelings for her.
He finally gets up the nerve to tell her how he feels about her, and to his surprise she tells him that she feels the same way. Life just can’t get any better. But Nicholas’s elation is short lived. His world comes crashing down when Sophia goes for a swim and drowns in the lake, taking away his hopes of a future with her.
But wait, what about the serum… could it work on a human? He will need to extract oxytocin from another human subject in order test his theory. He invites a prostitute back to his apartment, and kills her and it works. Sophia is brought back to life. She seems OK at first, but not all is well. She has lost a part of her humanity, and it seems that the results of the procedure are only temporary as she dies again after a short time.
In order to keep Sonia alive, Nicholas must kill again and again to keep injecting the serum into Sophia. This vicious cycle only lasts for one day, and they both descend into madness and horror, until there is only one way out.
Pretty lofty ideals floating around in there, no? Good shite though, as Cronenberg has proved time and time again, intellectual horror flicks can definitely have a place in the world. Of course, it’s all in the execution of such that determines for how long (shitty movies, regardless of premise, don’t endure).
Guillermo Diaz, Tessa Thompson, Larry Cedar, Kelly Frye, David H. Lawrence, Suziey Block, Gabbriella Gatto, Shelby Bond, Dillen Slavin, Desiree Martinez and Celeste Marie Martinez also play a part in the film.
Stay up for release news!