After receiving a series of panicked messages from her older brother Richie (Heston Horwin), young nursing student Becca (Jillian Harris) rushes over to his apartment to check on him. When she gets there, her worst fears come true: she finds Richie’s dead body after a successful suicide attempt. While she’s in distress, Richie suddenly appears, stark naked, and holding a bowl of cereal. It turns out that each time Richie kills himself, he is reborn through a pulsating, vagina-like hole in his bedroom wall. The weirdest thing about this is that Richie’s old bodies don’t disappear, leaving the siblings surrounded by corpses.
Dead Dicks is like nothing you’d expect from its title. Its premise sounds really dark — and it is — but this genre film adds in layers of dark comedy to its Cronenberg-like body horror, before going on to make a poignant statement about mental illness. Richie is bipolar and the film’s outrageous concept allows us to take in the pain and suffering of living with mental illness while not being too overwhelmed by the stark reality of it. Wanting to die when you can’t is a grim subject to tackle, but the humorous approach makes it bearable to watch.
The novelty of the film’s premise, which has Richie and Becca finding a way to dispose of the dead bodies before the super checks in on them in the morning, doesn’t outweigh the elements of family drama. Becca’s life has been on the backburner for years while caring for her older brother, causing her to feel conflicted when she’s accepted into a graduate nursing program. On the other side of the relationship, Richie takes the time to highlight his ongoing difficulties during a heart to heart with his sister, explaining the suffering that often comes with mental illness.
Directors Chris Bavota and Lee Paula Springer co-wrote the script together, which is a tight and entertaining feat. It’s jam-packed with both witty and affecting dialogue, showing off the film’s audacious tone but also depicting the close, yet somewhat dysfunctional relationship between Richie and Becca. Dead Dicks is smart and original, and the touches of humour are well crafted, alongside the oozing special effects. The direction and cast only work to create an effective film that shows off the talent involved. While the open ending might be hit or miss amongst its audience, it allows the film to keep its lighthearted tone, and makes you wonder what happens next. It’s a hard film to recommend considering its subject matter; nonetheless, it’s very well suited to genre fans who must check out this hidden gem.
Dead Dicks is now available on DVD, Blu-ray and VOD.
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