‘Play Dead’ (2023) Film Review: “Another” Horror in the Morgue

play dead is a movie directed by Patrick Lussier starring bailee madison Y Jerry O’Connell.

That the mortuary is a more than “appetizing” place for a horror movie is more than evident. In addition, they cost little, they do not need to rebuild a ship or pay millions to the actors. Several things are needed: actors willing to do well and take the “leap”, a decent script, a committed production and, above all, a director who knows what he is doing.

Mr. Patrick Lussier, director of the film, knows what he is doing.

Argument

Criminology student Chloe fakes her own death to infiltrate the morgue and steal some incriminating evidence against her brother, but soon discovers that the morgue isn’t the “party” she expected.

Movie review

play dead movie blumhouse — Play Dead (2023)

Movies are almost as easy to make as they are difficult to get right: you almost always go easy and cover everything in gore (if you don’t choose to combine them with comedy). In short, with the fact that they are profitable quickly, they are not usually taken seriously and, most of them, leave much to be desired in terms of editing, sound, interpretation and, above all, imagination.

This is not the case with Play Dead, which is, above all, a very well-carried movie in terms of rhythm. It’s not that it’s completely original, but its director has such controlled tempo of the narration in this classic formulation of terror and suspense that simply works as it has to work without fuss and without wanting to become a cult piece: it knows how to behave, what springs to press and scare at the right moment.

Play Dead has the virtue of not wanting to behave like what it is not: it wants to be a classic “scary movie” with that smarter-than-average girl who runs into the “moron” on duty and who tries to escape from a… vivisection, no less.

The actors are good, Bailee Madison is good in her role as a beauty in trouble but, above all, very good Jerry O’Connell, who gives us an elegant role of a very trendy psychopath. American Psychobut selling organs.

Well achieved balance between dialogues and scenes.

On the other hand, don’t expect wonders or artistic fancy with the camera either: it is a film created to please the fans, but this time it does so with quality, rhythm and a story that, without being anything original, defends itself with what have.

Our opinion

Without pretending to offer us a work that can be remembered, he is content (perhaps too much) with doing well in a minor genre film. Good performances in a film in which its director, Patrick Lussier, earns his salary and, of course, another contract.

Because the boy knows how to do his job very well.