Deadgirl (2008)

29% of critics liked it
(17 reviews)
43% of users liked it
(2,515 ratings)

Ditching school on a lark in favor of downing beers and raising hell at an abandoned mental hospital, two high school kids from the wrong side of the tracks make a horrifying discovery that will test their morals and serve as the catalyst for a dangerous battle of wills. Rickie (Shiloh Fernandez)… More Ditching school on a lark in favor of downing beers and raising hell at an abandoned mental hospital, two high school kids from the wrong side of the tracks make a horrifying discovery that will test their morals and serve as the catalyst for a dangerous battle of wills. Rickie (Shiloh Fernandez) and JT (Noah Segan) are the kind of kids more likely to be caught smoking in the boy's room than studying in the library, so when they skip out of class to explore a crumbling mental hospital it seems like just another days of mischief and mayhem. What seemed to be business as usual becomes anything but, however, when the two boys break through a rusted door leading to a dark boiler room and discover a naked woman tied to a gurney and covered in plastic. Since the door to the boiler room was rusted shut it seems unlikely that any living soul has inhabited the space for years, yet when the body shows signs of life JT immediately suggests that he and his pal should have a little naughty fun with their helpless captive. But while Rickie may be somewhat reckless, his moral compass still points in the right direction and he wants nothing to do with such sordid affairs. Later, when word of Rickie and JT's discovery gets out, tensions flare as events take a darkly disturbing turn. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 39 min.
Directed By: Marcel Sarmiento, Gadi Harel
Written By: Trent Haaga
Genres: Drama, Horror

In Theaters: Sep 6, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Sep 15, 2009
Studio: Dark Sky Films

Critic Reviews

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
Much of the allegorical force Harel and Sarmiento's film has built up is undone by its utterly conventional, lameass-switcheroo ending, which may be an indication that more than enough virtual ink has been spilled on this subject.
Rex Reed, New York Observer
Written by a weirdo named Trent Haaga for no other purpose than to outrage, Deadgirl is part S&M porno, part supernatural chiller, and worthy only if you're interested in how far movies can go before the police arrive.
Vadim Rizov, Village Voice
[It] has more fantastically blunt, clunky, and downright laughable teen-sex dialogue per minute than anything this side of Larry Clark.
Christopher Long, Movie Metropolis
The filmmakers don't really push the envelope visually as much as they are trying to conceptually.
Sean Axmaker, Seanax.com
... more pose than convincing psychological portrait, leaving little more than a well executed horror film with a very different kind of sexual danger.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Clearly inspired by "Andy Warhol's Frankenstein" (1973), "Deadgirl" is dirty little video nasty that doesn't begin to approach Warhol's superior production that was directed by Paul Morrissey.
Maitland McDonagh, Miss FlickChick
A pitiless look at the worst aspects of teenage male horndog-dom ... if there weren't some poisonous kernel of truth in its grotesque, testosterone-poisoned "what if?" premise, no-one would be squirming.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
A pleasant--or I should say pleasantly unpleasant--surprise...a[n]...effective character study dressed up as a grisly horror movie.
Ethan Alter, Giant Magazine
Screenwriter Trent Haaga takes the premise to some dark, disturbing places. Unfortunately, the film itself doesn't do full justice to Haaga's script
Chris Cabin, Filmcritic.com
It's a tasteless film but it doesn't seem to even enjoy any of the politically correct totems it so openly sprays its bodily fluids over
Matt Pais, Metromix.com
A nasty concept is nice, but then you gotta do something with it.
Donald J. Levit, ReelTalk Movie Reviews
With a slight hint of developing into more than a teen-pleaser gorefest, 'Deadgirl' instead goes for the jugular and splatters blood.
Ryan Stewart, Slant Magazine
The appeal of Deadgirl depends exclusively on the intriguing image at its center.
Lucius Gore, ESplatter
An ingenious, awesome zombie movie
Anton Bitel, Eye for Film
a sombre film that never shows more than it needs to, and never allows its more outrageous or shocking moments to descend into sadistic spectacle or farce.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...it's ultimately hard to work up any real enthusiasm for a film that paints virtually all of its male characters as sleazy rapists with necrophilic tendencies.
Luke Y. Thompson, LYTRules.com
Jenny Spain's performance as the Deadgirl is a thing of wonder, feral and frightening, yet vaguely seductive in a twisted way.

Read all 17 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

John M

Just under two hours, i felt like i was watching 3 hours. There was so much here, just not enough good. This movie tried to do something but I am not sure what. I felt everyone seemed to be overacting and I just did not feel an attachment to the characters. The premise is a solid dark… More
Just under two hours, i felt like i was watching 3 hours. There was so much here, just not enough good. This movie tried to do something but I am not sure what. I felt everyone seemed to be overacting and I just did not feel an attachment to the characters. The premise is a solid dark different take on zombie films but seemed to go all over the place in its course to a very very dark ending.
paul o

Its hard to watch due to its moral conflicts of rape...but with a zombie. There was no way to make the film any better than the state it was in when the screenwriter first thought of the idea.
Lorenzo v

<i>"You Never Forget Your First Time"</i> Two high school boys discover an imprisoned woman in an abandoned mental asylum who cannot die. <center><font size=+2 face="Century… More
<i>"You Never Forget Your First Time"</i> Two high school boys discover an imprisoned woman in an abandoned mental asylum who cannot die. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> Call me one sick puppy; I may even be sicker than I think, because I really enjoyed this grizzly stomach turner. Morals and a battle of wills come into play when a couple of teen never-do-wells skip class to drink some beers and literally raise some hell in an abandoned mental institute. Rickie (Shiloh Fernandez)and J.T. (Noah Segan)make a horrifying discovery that is far from being anything that is right. Things get real horrid when the two share their "discovery". You will find it pitiful before slowly losing control of your stomach contents. A lot of nudity and graphic sexual situations and more may be hard to digest. You've been warned. At the moment I'm willing to sample a second helping. Also in the cast: Candice Accola, Eric Podnar, Nolan Gerard Funk, Christina Blevins and Jenny Spain, as the "Deadgirl". Heavy and moody music by The Liars, The Spokes Men and The Black Summer Crush.
Jason S

This is a pretty bad movie. Two guys fool around in an abandoned mental hospital and happen upon a locked door deep in the bowls of the place and open it to see whats inside. They find a dirty naked woman chained to a table and do what any teen in a horror movie would do. They keep… More
This is a pretty bad movie. Two guys fool around in an abandoned mental hospital and happen upon a locked door deep in the bowls of the place and open it to see whats inside. They find a dirty naked woman chained to a table and do what any teen in a horror movie would do. They keep her chained up and have sex with her. After they discover she is a zombie. And that's where I tuned out. The jump from "Oh, man... it's a woman tied up!" to "We can keep her chained up and have sex with her anytime we want cause she's a zombie!" happens in the space of about three minutes. So stupid. I also found one of the main actors, Fernandez, to have one of the most annoying faces in film in a long time. He constantly has this look on his face like he's smirking and trying to kiss the air at the same time and I founf myself growing angry at the stupid expression and that just added to the lameness of the movie. I tuned out and started playing Angry Birds on my iPod about 30 min and barely looked up at the screen after that. Avoid this one.
Randy T

If you are a fan of <i>Deadgirl</i> then I should apologize in advance. It wouldn't be politically correct for me to trash your film without showing some sensitivity and empathy for your point of view. It's just that a movie about high school boys keeping a… More
If you are a fan of <i>Deadgirl</i> then I should apologize in advance. It wouldn't be politically correct for me to trash your film without showing some sensitivity and empathy for your point of view. It's just that a movie about high school boys keeping a naked zombie girl chained in the basement so they can repeatedly rape her didn't appeal to me. Not only that but your film is missing a few key elements, namely empathetic characters, a little comic relief, intelligence, logic, appeal for anyone with an IQ above 50, etc. etc. etc. So there, I've said my peace. Hope you'll forgive me for throwing a few disparaging words at this little lump of cinematic tripe. Have a nice day! :)
Creep F

Very unique zombie flick. Probably the most unique zombie movie to come out for the past couple of years. The basic plotline is pretty damn simple. Let's see if you can stomach this... Two high school boys find a catatonic female zombie inside an abandoned mental asylum, and… More
Very unique zombie flick. Probably the most unique zombie movie to come out for the past couple of years. The basic plotline is pretty damn simple. Let's see if you can stomach this... Two high school boys find a catatonic female zombie inside an abandoned mental asylum, and the remainder of the film a few boys have their way with her. Over, and over, and over again. Straight up necrophilia. It's pretty gross. But don't let the plot turn you off so much. Everything is suggested, nothing overly graphic is on display. The film's rated R. It's not rated X, or NC-17, so you won't have to cover your eyes much, if at all. It's just the subject matter that's pretty nasty shit. But it's also a pretty damn interesting teen drama. Teen angst, and students trying to fit in and do what's cool, you know? Peer pressure and all that crap. There's even a love story thrown into the mix (more of a love interest actually), and NO...NOT with the female zombie. It's actually one of the better horror films to come out in 2008, one of the lesser know one's too. And there's more than just a tale of a dead girl getting raped here. Under the subtext is a story of the much lonely, and troubled youth. You be the judge. I know already there's one character you'll have a heart for. But it's not the dead chick. And I don't care if she's in really good shape. SHE'S DEAD FOR CHRIST SAKES! Nasty kids. Superb performances all around. Not corny at all, and it's actually pretty damn emotional at times. Quality filmmaking. Good stuff! Disturbing, and pretty gross film. Leaves you feeling a little dirty at times. But this is one damn unique movie, as weird as that sounds. I highly recommend this to any horror fan! <img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm89/JDHallowEEn/Horror/Deadgirl.jpg">
Dean M

This sucks! Questions as to how a girl chained to a table who, despite appearing to be alive, is in fact a zombie, ended up there, who she is and what the cop would make of it are discarded in favour of - and seriously, WTF? - making her "our fuck slave". Not surprisingly,… More
This sucks! Questions as to how a girl chained to a table who, despite appearing to be alive, is in fact a zombie, ended up there, who she is and what the cop would make of it are discarded in favour of - and seriously, WTF? - making her "our fuck slave". Not surprisingly, this doesn't end well, although by that time J.D.'s (Noah Segan) moved into the basement and raped the girl repeatedly, drunk on the power he lacks in the real world but has down there. Rickie (Shiloh Fernandez), meanwhile, is the sensitive conflicted one with a heart - until the final frame reveals he's just as big as cock as his mate.
_kelly .

This is a well executed serious take on the outrageous b horror-exploitation flicks this writer usually makes. This is effective as a "make you think about fucked up shit" movie, not a jumpscare thriller or a gore showcase. As such, it has to make some characters that… More
This is a well executed serious take on the outrageous b horror-exploitation flicks this writer usually makes. This is effective as a "make you think about fucked up shit" movie, not a jumpscare thriller or a gore showcase. As such, it has to make some characters that matter, and it does. These characters have dimension and their actions correspond to what we can expect of them. I watched it twice. Would serve as a nice boys' version companion piece to Teeth in the category of modern (super fucking weird) sexual development horror.
Steve K

Another instance where all the hype seems unjustified. It will require a second viewing to be sure, but the film felt overlong and undernourished. The shock scenes weren't that shocking (sorry, I've seen too much horror cinema), the characters were unlikable and somewhat… More
Another instance where all the hype seems unjustified. It will require a second viewing to be sure, but the film felt overlong and undernourished. The shock scenes weren't that shocking (sorry, I've seen too much horror cinema), the characters were unlikable and somewhat unbelievable. This one will probably disturb more those viewers who are not already steeped in horror.
Jacob P

A good little horror flick that did something much different than most zombie films would do. I enjoyed it.
Alex M

On the surface, it's a shock film involving necrophilia and rape. Look a little deeper, and it's a coming of age story about prejudice based on class, and the feeling of helplessness people can feel because of their social standing. It also serves as a commentary on the… More
On the surface, it's a shock film involving necrophilia and rape. Look a little deeper, and it's a coming of age story about prejudice based on class, and the feeling of helplessness people can feel because of their social standing. It also serves as a commentary on the soullessness of girls. Deadgirl represents the only type of girl poor kids will ever have. She's nothing but a sex doll, rotten from large amounts of meaningless sex. JoAnn, the popular rich girl, will only be with popular, rich guys no matter how cruel they treat other people. This movie is so misanthropic, I'm surprised it wasn't made in France. So, morals aside, is the movie entertaining? Yes it is.
Allison B

Jesus, this movie needs two separate ratings -- one for overall quality and one for WTF-disturbia. "Disturbed" probably is a word that many people have and will continue to use when describing "Deadgirl." Don't watch this with anything resembling a full… More
Jesus, this movie needs two separate ratings -- one for overall quality and one for WTF-disturbia. "Disturbed" probably is a word that many people have and will continue to use when describing "Deadgirl." Don't watch this with anything resembling a full tummy. I was pretty empty, but by the end of the film (and even the following day), my stomach was ready to dig up anything it could find to puke out -- it's that graphic and maddening. FYI - This is not a zombie movie. There may be a zombie in it, but that's not the overarching point. This is not a "Watch the zombie terrorize a town by eating people's faces and causing panic" thing. This is a "See how humans react to an 'available' woman in a disturbingly feral and boys'-club way" kind of thing. The overall story is solid -- lame, misunderstood, bottom-tier high school guys find weird, maybe-dead-maybe-alive woman chained to a table in an abandoned asylum, and very messed-up hijinks ensue. The movie hasn't been screened too widely, even though it's a 2008 film, so I don't want to give too much of it away, but it delves into male-female dynamics, social hierarchy, sex/power addiction, and the always-present moral dillemmas. Moreover, "Deadgirl" explores what is perceived reality and what is pure fantasy, and how do two (ok, three) people who grew up together act differently to the reality/fantasy issue? "Deadgirl" really was a fascinating story. However, it's a story that I much rather would have read than watched. I went to a midnight showing of this, which to me made it feel all the more surreal. As the film went on, the scenes presented kept getting more revolting, more gritty, more... everything. I had to watch through my hands through much of this. I don't deal well with control/rape/deeply psychological movies anyway, but this one completely jarred my system more than just about any other. Aside: After the movie, a friend and I watched several episodes of "Family Guy" to get the "Deadgirl" taste out of our mouths. This didn't help tremendously, as I still had horrific dreams that were more disturbing than usual. Even now in the afternoon, I'm having difficulty not seeing "Deadgirl" in my head, and I feel quite unsettled. So yeah, "Deadgirl" was a horror movie; just not in the way one usually expects. The writing generally was good. Like I said, the story itself is intriguing, and the character study was well done. Friendship, betrayal, unrequited love and fatalism all are explored to great degree. However, there are a few cheesy lines and scenes that seemed thrown in for "Har-dee-har-har" factor and didn't advance the movie -- in fact, those useless pieces took me out of it, a bit. In addition, there are a few scenes that I (and obviously people around me) thought "Wait, there's just NO WAY that would ever happen. NO ONE IS THAT DUMB." I don't think the writers meant for those elements to unfold in a B-movie way; I think they just didn't think them through OR they just really wanted those scenes come hell or high water. All in all, it was a good movie, a good departure from the usual horror stuff, and something to talk about and occupy the mind long after the credits roll. That's also the problem, though -- sleep can be hard to come by after watching "Deadgirl."
Francisco G

A great and shocking premise that could've had fantastic results on the right hands is completly plagued by atrocious acting, lame artistic choices, boring situations and an overall feeling of "what should we do now..." But the worse complaint really should be… More
A great and shocking premise that could've had fantastic results on the right hands is completly plagued by atrocious acting, lame artistic choices, boring situations and an overall feeling of "what should we do now..." But the worse complaint really should be adressed to the main actors. Sure, they're supposed to be detestable but they're so lame on how they act it's almost laughable. Imagine the worse looks, phrases from everyone's favorite soap operas and multipy it by an atrocious factor of x100.
Anoop K

Two friends wandering in an abandoned mental asylum sees a tied up nude girl. And they decides to "keep" her. Very interesting horror thriller with lots of awesome set pieces.
Ed Fucking H

I really enjoyed this one. I had heard much said ahead of time about Deadgirl, and how it's legitimately scary, uncomfortable, and upsetting and the hype was all true. It is also a very original movie and is proof that it is still possible to come up with new way's to scare… More
I really enjoyed this one. I had heard much said ahead of time about Deadgirl, and how it's legitimately scary, uncomfortable, and upsetting and the hype was all true. It is also a very original movie and is proof that it is still possible to come up with new way's to scare people in horror films. The film deals with two alienated youths, who decide to skip school one day and drink beers at an abandoned mental institution. In the basement they find a naked women chained up who seems to have been there for quite a long time. The one dude, Ricky, tries to make an effort to save her, but his friend JT has other plans for this girl. While Ricky keeps his mouth shut about what they have found, JT quitely begins having his way with this women, and comes across the discovery that she can not be killed as she is already dead (a zombie sex slave of some kind.) He begins telling other kids from school aout his recent discovery and the zombie sex slave begins to be passed around amongst he boys at the school, with seemingly only Ricky seeing anything wrong with this. While the thought of a group of teenage boys repeatedly raping a zombie girl might not sound like a very appealing idea for a movie, the film is very well executed, and most of the sex and violence is implied rather than overly graphic. This allows the film itself to focus on the psychological side of the situation more so than the physical. This also forces the film to create strong characters that matter, and forces it's audience to ask themselves questions that they might not be comfortable answering to themselves. Not for all tastes for sure, but this film is really in a a genre of it's own. It is an intelligent and uncomfrtable movie experiance that is unlike any other you have likely seen before and probably will disgust you, but in many ways that's what horror movies are supposed to do. Definently worth a watch if you enjoy brains and originality in your horror.
John M

Interesting, original and bizarre take on the zombie genre that moves slowly with some gore here and there. Technically good with sounds and special effects that are very well executed. Good but too slow.
Kevin L

This movie is soooo fucked up! I mean believe me I have seen up fucked up shit and this movie almost takes the cake. I can damn near promise you that you will be disturbed by this film! Holy Shit! I don?t want to ruin anything, this is the type of movie that you should go into… More
This movie is soooo fucked up! I mean believe me I have seen up fucked up shit and this movie almost takes the cake. I can damn near promise you that you will be disturbed by this film! Holy Shit! I don?t want to ruin anything, this is the type of movie that you should go into knowing nothing to very little about. Its so creepy, though some of the situations the boys are in may seem unrealistic it just makes the movie at least for me that much more disturbing. If you have a weak stomach, stay away from this film!!! I have never in my life seen this in a film before, its very unique. The acting isn?t the greatest that is one of the things that brings this movie down a bit though.
Jason R

Deadgirl certainly does defy any precedent ever set in the zombie/horror genre and is one of those brilliantly written and filmed independent movies that can't be classified and is also very hard to describe. I will say though that something as unique as this is a relief to see… More
Deadgirl certainly does defy any precedent ever set in the zombie/horror genre and is one of those brilliantly written and filmed independent movies that can't be classified and is also very hard to describe. I will say though that something as unique as this is a relief to see becasue I know there are some people still out there with fresh ideas and visions. The film has a few plot holes and some of the acting is so-so but the films shortcomings are completely forgivable becasue this is a very unique and entertaining film to watch.
Juny L

A sick twist to the zombie genre.It really scores for originality,but the fresh idea also goes to waste in places,not much goes on in the first 50-55 mins of the film.This could've been such a great horror film if executed better.I'm sure is not a film for everyone &… More
A sick twist to the zombie genre.It really scores for originality,but the fresh idea also goes to waste in places,not much goes on in the first 50-55 mins of the film.This could've been such a great horror film if executed better.I'm sure is not a film for everyone & probably mixed feelings from horror fans,perhaps some viewers will find this indi flick disturbing. <div style="width:450px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/photos/deadgirl-12314435"><img src="http://content9.flixster.com/photo/12/31/44/12314435_gal.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com">Flixster</a> - Share Movies</div></div>
Wu C

It's campy and fun.

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Deadgirl (2008)

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