"Being kinda dead sorta sucks."
Indie short film "Lifeless" delivers with catchy music in a jam packed half hour of dynamic storytelling. "Lifeless" never misses a beat (no pun intended) from the opening scene to the very last line. Every song tells a part of the story without being hindered by long and unnecessary exposition. It's a dark comedy which touches on the invincibility the young feel, the unpreparedness for death, and the lost hopes of a future.
Synopsis: "Lifeless" tells the tale of a group of high school graduates who throw a party intending to have a good time and get away from their lives for a night. Getting a little out of hand, the friends end up mixing herbs and household product chemicals together only to collapse and wake up as the undead. They all realize that being undead isn't exactly something they had planned and try to figure out how to reverse the effect.
Each member of the group has a distinct personality and each brings a different uniqueness which helps them all stay grounded as they work to figure out what they need to do to get out of their predicament. Their screaming and undead antics lead to a few funny moments. The musical number "Out of Our Lives" is worthy of a Broadway stage and the song "What I Might Have Been" strikes the right chords with its sad and tragic lyrics about all the lost possibilities in life.
The acting is generally well done and fits the tone of the movie. The choreography and atmosphere for "Out of Our Lives" is superb. The ensemble works well together and the subtle touch of the Halloween-style contacts to show their status as the undead is nice without being overdone. The single moment of silence when they all decide that being undead is not how they want to live is touching and brings with it a level of maturity that isn't there at the beginning of the film.
Overall, "Lifeless" is creative, funny, and wonderfully executed in a way that sheds new light on the undead without feeling tacky or unoriginal.
For more movie reviews, news, and updates, be sure to visit www.examiner.com/movie-in-washington-dc/mae-abdulbaki
Indie short film "Lifeless" delivers with catchy music in a jam packed half hour of dynamic storytelling. "Lifeless" never misses a beat (no pun intended) from the opening scene to the very last line. Every song tells a part of the story without being hindered by long and unnecessary exposition. It's a dark comedy which touches on the invincibility the young feel, the unpreparedness for death, and the lost hopes of a future.
Synopsis: "Lifeless" tells the tale of a group of high school graduates who throw a party intending to have a good time and get away from their lives for a night. Getting a little out of hand, the friends end up mixing herbs and household product chemicals together only to collapse and wake up as the undead. They all realize that being undead isn't exactly something they had planned and try to figure out how to reverse the effect.
Each member of the group has a distinct personality and each brings a different uniqueness which helps them all stay grounded as they work to figure out what they need to do to get out of their predicament. Their screaming and undead antics lead to a few funny moments. The musical number "Out of Our Lives" is worthy of a Broadway stage and the song "What I Might Have Been" strikes the right chords with its sad and tragic lyrics about all the lost possibilities in life.
The acting is generally well done and fits the tone of the movie. The choreography and atmosphere for "Out of Our Lives" is superb. The ensemble works well together and the subtle touch of the Halloween-style contacts to show their status as the undead is nice without being overdone. The single moment of silence when they all decide that being undead is not how they want to live is touching and brings with it a level of maturity that isn't there at the beginning of the film.
Overall, "Lifeless" is creative, funny, and wonderfully executed in a way that sheds new light on the undead without feeling tacky or unoriginal.
For more movie reviews, news, and updates, be sure to visit www.examiner.com/movie-in-washington-dc/mae-abdulbaki