The Dead Thing (2024)

March 3, 2025 11:44 AM

[TRAILER] Alex (Blu Hunt) is a young woman lost in a series of meaningless connections and hookups. She falls fast and hard for charismatic and sensitive Kyle (Ben Smith-Petersen) after their internet match/date, but it turns out that Kyle hides a dark secret.

Also starring John Karna, Katherine Hughes, Joey Millin, Brennan Mejia, Aerial Washington, Josh Marble, Emily Joy Lemus, Sally Sum.

Directed by Elric Kane. Screenplay by Elric Kane, Webb Wilcoxen. Produced by Matt Mercer, Monte Yazzie for Yellow Veil Pictures/Rubric Pictures/Coda Films. Distributed by Shudder. Cinematography by Ioana Vasile. Edited by Star Rosencrans. Music by Michael Krassner, Robin Vining.

83% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Currently streaming in the US on Shudder. See streaming options for your country on JustWatch.

posted by DirtyOldTown (2 comments total)

Right off the bat, let me say that this does not have the obvious/common twist: Kyle isn't a serial killer. He's dead. He's the dead thing.

This is a well-made little micro-budget erotic drama/horror and it has some sharp points about toxic relationships. But that's not my subgenre and I'm so far removed from dating in general (and never even really did internet dating much) that it was something I admired more than I felt it was resonant for me personally. YMMV.

Pretty neat that Colors of the Dark/Fangoria podcast host Elric Kane acquitted himself well his first time out as a feature filmmaker though.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:47 AM on March 3

So, like, the premise is: it's a movie about when someone ghosts you and that is what makes you impossibly fascinated by them; now we'll do the classic horror take-a-metaphor-and-reify-it trick, so the person who ghosted you is an actual ghost? Hmmm. Tricky! because the toxic relationship problems that go with that dynamic don't naturally line up super well with the scenario of being dead.
posted by redfoxtail at 3:42 PM on March 3