A Certain Kind of Death (2003) User Reviews

Excellent Documentary

[slake09 · 8/10 · 22 July 2006]

One of the better documentaries I've seen, A Certain Kind of Death explores what happens to people whose bodies go unclaimed by relatives. Although it's a grisly subject the film makers were able to make it an interesting and very watchable experience.

Dead bodies in various stages of decomposition are seen, but not played for shock factor. Instead, you learn a little about each person, both what they were before death and what will happen to them afterward. They are followed from the discovery of the body to the final disposition of the remains, and each step in between.

The LA County Coroner's Office figures prominently, and they are shown to be a dedicated and professional group with respect for the dead and their property. I was surprised to find this documentary to be so watchable, it has a good flow and answers most if not all questions.

Sometimes Unsettling, Rarely Boring

[ReelCheese · 8/10 · 16 August 2006]

Sometimes unsettling but rarely boring documentary answers an interesting, unexplored question: What happens to people who die with no next of kin? Producers followed the men and women in Los Angeles who are handed the task of trying to track down somebody -- anybody -- with relation to the deceased. Hundreds of unrelatable corpses slowly move through a process of storage, cremation and ultimately mass burial.

Obviously such a topic deserves to be handled with sensitivity, and "A Certain Kind of Death" does just that. While the film never holds back -- we see our share of slowly-decaying bodies and red-hot roasting skulls -- but none if it ever comes off as exploitive. This is a mature film made by serious people. If you think the premise appeals to you, so will the film.

A Gripping and Haunting Behind the Scenes Look into Death

[Illyngophobia · 8/10 · 17 November 2017]

On the surface, the documentary feels like it's going to follow in the footsteps of other documentaries and shockumentaries before it that give you an inside look into the lives of the dead and the coroners that work with them; setting us up for an unflinching, graphic face-to-face encounter with the many faces of death that spells like a gruesome car crash - you want to look away, but you can't.

However, unlike shockumentaries such as Traces of Death, Faces of Gore, or shorter documentaries like The Act of Seeing With Ones Own Eyes, this doesn't explicitly focus on the medical aspect of working with the dead; specifically that of autopsy examinations. Instead, it focuses on the inner workings of what goes on behind the scenes - from how they work to find people connected to the deceased to what happens to the deceased and their personal effects if nobody comes forward to claim them or be of next of kin. The documentary isn't overly graphic either, unlike the aforementioned titles. So, if scenes like that make you uncomfortable, they're very few and far between.

Filmed in real time, you feel like you're part of the production team and investigation crew as they race the clock to bring some closure to the dead. By the time the credits roll, it may leave you feeling heavy and dreary, or, perhaps, with a new appreciation for life itself. While it may not be life changing or cause existential dread, it may give you something to think about as you go about your day to day life.

Off-beat subject handled in a fitting manner (with "spoiler")

[davebeedon · 25 May 2004]

This film, about an off-beat subject, captivated me from start to finish. It describes what the County of Los Angeles does with corpses and personal property when a person dies without any next of kin. The filming style is strictly business with no frills, which lets the viewer concentrate on the often sad subject matter. Employees in office settings talk to the film crew in a natural, no-nonsense manner about the work they do. Some scenes have no dialog or narration and feel just right that way. Nothing seemed staged.

Before seeing this film, I had never thought about the subject matter of this film---who has? That's why it appealed to me: it exposes an aspect of society that lurks beneath the surface of our awareness. I love to learn about such obscure activities.

The amount of effort put into the county's process was amazing and showed concern for people who are 'all alone at the end.' I saw the employees as performers of an honorable task in the name of people who had no one else to speak for them. Their work probably goes unnoticed by the majority of the public and is therefore thankless. I appreciated that the filmmakers did not try to make the subject more exciting than it was or to gloss over ugly aspects of the process.

It's definitely not for the faint of heart. It shows corpses---sometimes naked---lying on floors, and one of them is obviously decomposing. Plastic-wrapped bodies are casually handled in various stages of the process. Crematory employees break up, then grind, the bones that are left over after fire has done its work. There are plenty of disturbing images.

One scene haunted me: the county's property people are cleaning out the apartment or house of someone who recently died. The goods will be held for a while, then auctioned off to pay debts and county costs. After the last picture has been removed from the living room wall, all that remains on the wall is the set of picture hangers and the dirty outlines where the pictures used to be. For me that scene said, 'The meaning of Life X has been lost.'

The slow pace of the credits at the end seemed a fitting tribute to the people---living and dead---who had been documented. A film definitely worth watching. My thanks to the people who made it and to the Sundance Channel for exposing me to it.

Quiet, and Contemplative

[catiecatie · 10/10 · 21 June 2004]

This is one of the best docs I have seen! Quiet and contemplative, it moves at a 'real time' pace. Highly informative, you feel as if you are in the movie via staring at the clock, or people's desks as they go about the long, drawn out process closing the deceased's affairs. That is what you want in a doc, right? This will also inspire you to get it together regarding paperwork, funeral arrangements etc. so the city/county/state doesn't have to. (It was creepy watching strangers go through a person's effects.) This movie will inspire me at least to do my dishes everyday, because you never know, it may be my last!

The cold, hard truth

[xakarava · 10/10 · 16 March 2005]

I recently saw "A Certain Kind of Death" on Sundance and it literally blew my mind away. It was captivating because this documentary actually makes one appreciate life a lot more.

"A Certain Kind of Death" explores as to what happens to the unclaimed dead (the deceased with no RECORDED next of kin)when their corpses are now the care of the government (which in this case is LA county). Maybe many people have an idea what happens to the deceased John and Jane Does' of the world but this explores the nitty, gritty details as to what happens. I will not spoil it here or go into too much detail, but there are people whose job it is to take care of the unclaimed dead corpses and to them it's business as usual, but the images from their jobs will stick with you and I have, at least, learned to appreciate my family and most importantly my life after watching this story (in other words, don't take everyday life for granted for you never know....) This isn't a cheery documentary. It does make you think and feel. Some viewers have complained that the people in the film aren't passionate about their jobs. Well, since when processing corpses on a daily basis (mind you, some of these corpses are in pretty AWFUL shape) invokes passion??? This is what essentially happens when you die folks, there's no way around it. Some have pretty mahogany coffins with satin lining, others have 24k gold urns for their ashes, but their are many out there not so fortunate but in the end we all end up the same: ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

I highly recommend this film.

Good but not captivating.

[jjw15 · 6/10 · 17 April 2003]

The film follows the events that happen following three people's deaths in LA county. None of them have next of kins and are in the hand of the government.

Overall, it was good but not captivating enough. Only one of the three I felt that I really gotten to know his life or who he is. The other two people followed in the film felt "incomplete." The people they interviewed also did not seem passionate enough about their jobs, and as a result, I did not feel the emotions I expected from a film with its goal.

Outstanding documentary in the Errol Morris vein

[Cosmoeticadotcom · 10/10 · 5 September 2008]

Where would contemporary documentaries be without the Michael Moore style of self-promotional agitprop, or without PBS's Burns Brothers' solemnly historical talking heads and recitations form of docudrama? Well, back to straightforward journalistic techniques, of the sort employed in the outstanding 70 minute long 2003 documentary from directors Grover Babcock and Blue Hadaegh, A Certain Kind Of Death. And no, this is not the exploitative pseudo-documentary style that was pioneered in camp classics like Faces Of Death nor Mondo Cane. Instead, the directors hew to the early style of Errol Morris, albeit even more starkly. Their technique- of emotional distancing, by having employees of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office simply tell how they do their jobs when dealing with kinless decedents, rather than telling how they feel, gives the audience an unbiased 'in' to the rather rote way municipalities deal with the hundreds of annual unclaimed dead- what used to be referred to as 'going to potter's field.'

The film follows the deaths of three single white middle-aged men in 2001….The inurement and occasional humor displayed by the people who clean up after the dead bodies, sift through their belongings, research their lives, and try to find next of kin, is to be expected in government work (as I was once a civil servant), where the roteness of civil servitude even less interesting than this often holds sway, but especially when one has to deal with about 2000 such cases a year. And when we see the bodies- naked, emotionless, with welts, bruises, or partly rotted and decomposed portions of their forms (these stiffs are called 'decomps' in the parlance), inurement seems a wholly reasonable approach one should take to such tasks, such as slinging the dead by their four limbs, like a shot deer (something I recall watching my own dead dad's body enduring)….

The utter lack of staginess and pretense makes this film invaluable, as both a research tool and a warning to those who have disconnected from life. The soundlessness as people do their jobs simply listing the contents of a life that is done is sad, yet not depressing. The only intervention of music in the film comes in a brief moment as an ice cream truck passes by during filming, and at the credit sequence that ends the film. Greensleeves is played, and its musical singularity only multiplies its emotional impact, especially since the film ends near Christmas, signifying it connects to the Resurrection of Christ sung of in the Greensleeves inspired song What Child Is This?….

Yet, A Certain Kind Of Death's value and filmic greatness comes also from restraint- in not going on too long, in not manipulating reality nor the viewer's emotions, and by letting images sink in. Often something interesting or shocking is followed by a several second long 'black screen.' For all the countless deaths shown on film in the century plus the medium has existed, none have ever been this realistic, for these deaths are real. Real people die, and are forgotten. The end. Or not, due to this film….

This film is an invaluable document of not only a certain time in American history, but these certain people's lives and deaths, as well as those of the county workers who bandy about terms like dispo, decomp, drayage, and harvesting. That it also comments mightily on the living- such as the fact that all the most menial tasks of destroying and burying remains falls to black and Latino workers, makes this film even more valuable. It's no wonder this film won a Special Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. It is gritty yet poetic, and reinforced by its blackout moments, it forces cogitation upon the viewer, then, upon resumption, shuttles them along. The irony implicit in the film is that the very thing that made these three dead men perfect subjects for the film- their utter disconnect from the rest of humanity, and the genericness of their lives and deaths, is the very thing that assures that they will always be known, at least by documentary film buffs. That this says more of the living than the dead is precisely why A Certain Kind Of Death, with its Joe Friday 'Just the facts!' approach is a great documentary, and should be viewed and appreciated for many years to come.

The Loneliness

[Insane_Man · 7/10 · 26 June 2021]

It's about unclaimed deaths. Who dies lonely. And hose dead bodies remain untouched for many time until it discovered by an uninvited person, mostly the house owners. By the way, this documentary is very touching which teaches us, don't die alone. Make good friends who may miss us sometimes. Keep relationship with every friends and family members we have. Recommended 80%. Alert: heavy heart breaking scenes.

Being and Nothingness

[groggo · 10/10 · 31 January 2008]

Filmmakers Grover Babcock and Blue Hadaegh have given us a brilliant, gritty, no-frills examination of a subject that not many people think about, or want to think about: what happens to people who die and nobody steps forward to claim their bodies?

'A Certain Kind of Death' follows several of these 'John Doe' cases. We get personal 'glances' at these profoundly alienated people, who apparently lived their lives feeling alone and detached from society. It is the existential literature of Sartre or Camus translated into real life.

There are no gimmicks in this film, very little music, and most of it is done in cinema verite style. We see investigators from L.A. County methodically plowing through the effects of the deceased, and we see them trying hard to find people who care enough to come forward and make funeral arrangements.

In one striking and disturbing scene, we see the contents of a decedent's apartment totally removed. The camera lingers on the emptiness, with outlines of where wall hangings used to be. All that remains of the dead man are outlines -- he is already being processed for cremation. We then see the apartment's contents being auctioned off to the highest bidder. The man remains a commodity long after his death.

Babcock and Hadaegh deserve high praise for an offbeat and important film about a story that needed to be told. Social disconnection and alienation are major problems, particularly in large urban areas, yet we hear little about them in our absurd pop-cultured world. In L.A. County alone, there are apparently about 1,600 unclaimed bodies every year. Not everyone is surrounded by caring families, not everyone knows the good life.

beautiful and somewhat horrific

[sswiller-1 · 10/10 · 17 January 2005]

I love this film. The director's unblinking eye captures something extraordinary and mundane. You see the process of laying to rest the John and Jane Does of Los Angeles. Some parts are extremely graphic, showing the bodies of deceased people (vagrants really) as well as the practical and unsettlingly methodical protocol used to handle and interr the remains. Part of me sees this film as a sweet elegy about death and impermanence. The other part of me sees a film about fascism and genocide because all of the living characters are lower-middle class bureaucrats who exist in a bureaucratic fog. Whether they shuffle papers or crush incinerated bone fragments, there is an alarming detachment masked behind a thin layer of civic obligation. This is not like the docs on CourtTV; this is a thoughtful, well-shot production.

Disturbing, well made documentary about death

[runamokprods · 4 August 2011]

Disturbing, creepy, sad documentary on how the body and personal effects of those who die without kin are handled by the coroner's office.

The lack of music and narration, combined with carefully coldly composed cinematography all add to the disturbing sense of clinical isolation.

The images of real dead bodies being discovered, cataloged, and eventually reduced to ash can't help but make one ponder mortality, and how alone we all are in the end.

Yet sometimes the air of reserve feels forced, and there's a bit of repetitiveness, despite the short (69 min) running time.

Still, a fascinating, macabre, thought provoking film

moving but brutal

[kfugrrl · 9/10 · 10 August 2008]

I found this to be an extremely moving film. It's an unflinching and honest look at the work that is involved when a john doe is found. I admired the lengths that these county workers had to take to give each person a name and to handle their affairs, if any were left. I felt that the workers did a very good job. i imagine that a certain amount of stoicism would be necessary to be able to see complete strangers at their most vulnerable. the film is very visceral and graphic in how we see the journey of each body from beginning to end and it was shocking to see how many bodies passed through the cremation process, and not just the three that the filmmakers followed. i was very sad to see the belongings of Mr. tanner sitting anonymously at the auction. there was a desire to be able to speak up and give the belongings a name and a history from where they came. i admired the way that they took the time to shred all of his checking account papers, to give him some protection, even after death. it's a very very admirable film and i would highly recommend it to anyone who wonders what happens when someone dies alone.

A matter-of-fact documentary about death

[robtakendall · 10/10 · 4 April 2008]

I really identified with this documentary because my father died in L.A. County and was cremated. Maybe I have a morbid sense of humor (or maybe I'm just a realist), but when I saw the scene with the industrial blender I was a little surprised at first, then I thought, "Oh my God, Daddy was in a blender!?" and laughed (knowing my father, he also would have thought that amusing - and you'll have to see the movie to know what I'm talking about).

There's an old saying...there are two things you always do alone: you are born alone, and you die alone. This movie focuses on people who really do die alone, and the Los Angeles County Coroner's office staff who have the unfortunate job of disposing of the decedents and their respective property. There seems to be a lot of discussion on this board about the apartment that had to be cleaned out after one man died....the process, at least to me, was interesting to watch. The staff member was very thorough, had a checklist, and made sure that there was a witness (the landlord) to the entire procedure.

The directors did a fine job on this documentary; it was an educational eye-opener. It showed the reality of death, and the professionalism and respect showed by the coroner's staff. I do hope the makers of this documentary will do another one soon.

Could not take my eyes off of it.

[jorgefromthefuture · 8/10 · 22 April 2020]

This documentary is unique in its rawness. It follows the deaths of 3 people, and captures the raw facts of how the state processes what remained after they died when no family or friends came to speak for them: their body, their money, their things. Through the process and the work of different state employees, some details of the decedents' lives emerge, showing that these were real human beings with life stories - who died alone. The film is almost like a stoic parent matter-of-factly and plainly illuminating the facts and realities of death to a child who has asked.

A Certain Kind of Death is well worth watching and eye opening. Its' only uncompromising principle being a dedication to sharing the unblinking brute facts and reality of how a state manages the deaths of it's citizens.

For me, the film left a lasting impression, forcing the viewer to ask themselves the obvious question: how do I want my own death to be handled?

This was awesome (little bit of a spoiler)

[cgeekwannabe · 10/10 · 1 October 2015]

I've come to realize that as I grow older, I become more and more obsessed with the science and business of death. From simple burials to exhumation and sky burials to watching live cremations from Pashupatinath in Nepal, it all fascinates me. And this film is no exception. While the technology is old (2003) the processes and procedures are still relevant and (most of all) important. Obviously these fine folks take their jobs seriously but are able to have a laugh once in a while. I especially enjoyed the part where the investigator was wrapping up a body and talking to her (what I assumed to be) boyfriend and was heard to say "Oh I'm just wrapping up a body" to him on her cell phone. I wondered to myself if they wash out those metal boxes before they are re-used or if they are just left as they are.

I've reviewed this movie previously & now my review is gone?!

[MorpheusOne · 8/10 · 2 June 2022]

This film, in my opinion, belongs in a genre that, for lack of a better term, I call "Great Film, Horrible Story!"

In terms of the acting, the script, the cinematography, the directing, all of the stuff, which is all academic, that you can go to college & learn, perhaps even earn a degree in, much, if not all, of that stuff in this film, & in others that belong in that genre mentioned above, is awesome! And yet such films are so well made not just because of the academic stuff, that other films seemingly don't care about at all. They are also so well made because they have a purpose that is universal & transcendent across cultures, across time. And it is rather common for said films to be on the rather low budget side of things. Unfortunately, this is the reason that it can be very easy for such a film to be underrated, even virtually unknown. I find that to be so annoying that it creates within me what you might call a "pet peeve"; especially when a film, such as this one, is held in comparison to other films that are, for example & specifically, far more popular and they suck! There are dozens of teenybopper flicks, rom-coms, big budget Hollywood blockbusters that come to mind... That disparity is not what makes this, & other similar films, such a beautiful example of the art form of film-making; but, it does highlight the reality that it would be a great thing if people stopped giving a damn about trash and actually paid attention to films that matter.

There is an unfortunate aspect for a film being a part of this newfound genre. Sometimes, ..in spite of all of the positive qualities that a film has, the film, or some aspect of the film, can be to much for some people - to much violence, to much gore, to much politically incorrect language, etc. And that's the other aspect of this that puts such a film into this newfound genre; what comes off the screen, the story, can be to much for some people. So, let's say that a film is excellent and underrated. As soon as it starts to receive the notoriety that it deserves it is lambasted for being... _'too real'_ ... or some other bullshit excuse. I don't know, maybe that's ironic. I do know that the people that do it are sad & pathetic! Still, if some people can't take the heat, they should stay out of the kitchen. I do believe that it is true that some films should just never be seen by some people.

It reminds me of just how sad & pathetic IMDb is for removing my review of this movie that I posted years ago! Am I the bad guy?! Did I do something wrong¿?

A fascinating and graphic behind the scenes

[jessemgreen · 10/10 · 9 May 2016]

Potential spoilers ahead.

This movie does a very good job showcasing what happens to people who die alone - either because of separation from family or because they're the last family member left having died childless and outliving everyone else in the family.

With a high degree of realism this movie is not for the faint of heart. It is graphic in some parts, showing the reality of death, presenting the deceased as they actually are, with some of the deceased naked - with one such person showing obvious decomposition after having been dead a while in his apartment. It shows cremations in progress and the processing of the cremains after the cremation is done.

In addition to the graphic realism it shows some of the more mundane things that happen - such as the work involved with finding next of kin and disposing of property. I liked seeing the old computer system that the people at the coroner's office used at the time - it made me nostalgic for the days when people used dumb terminals to do their work and not tablets or other devices with the latest GUIs.

If you feel able to handle the graphic realism of the film I would highly recommend seeing it. It shows how some people die without friends or family to take care of them afterwards, and the work that goes along with such passings.

A view not many get.

[xmxznwb · 10/10 · 3 November 2023]

I worked as a hospice nurse and witnessed several people pass with no family present. I always wondered what the next step was for them. It's a sad but curious process they go through with no one to take care of the next steps following death. Several things you don't think of in life at a certain age. You can't look away! If anything it makes you want to prepare in advance so you don't fall through the cracks. Rare views of decomposition and the cleanup process before they became a regular YouTube view. You do become involved with the individual they find...do they find family? Why did they die? What was their life like? Very interesting but done it what I feel is a very respectful and somber way given the subject matter. It is interesting to note they do look for quite some time for surviving family before burial.