Dead Lover
Grace Glowicki (Tito, SIFF 2021’s Strawberry Mansion) writes, directs, and gives a barkingly daring lead performance in this bizarre, performance art-coded, gender-bending lo-fi Frankenstein comedy about a lonely gravedigger who will do anything to build the perfect man. SXSW NEON Auteur Award winner.
Tickets
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Friday, May 23, 2025
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
Saturday, May 24, 2025
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
German Expressionism, nightmares about sentient severed penises, and black box community theatre finally share one common factor: inspiration for Grace Glowicki’s horror/romance/comedy film.
Glowicki stars (also directs, co-writes, and co-produces) as the gravedigger who reeks so horrifically of the dead no one will come near her. When she meets a poet (cowriter Ben Petrie) who actually enjoys her stench, she sees a brighter future for herself. Tragically, their affair is cut short when he perishes at sea, causing the gravedigger to pursue dark methods to be with her lover.
Deeply collaborative and macgyvered with passion, the entire crew pitched in to create the DIY theatrical aesthetic: sourcing materials from dollar stores, playing upwards of five roles per cast member, using a single zoom lens. Shot on 16mm film, this dreamy and hyper-stylized tribute to the many iterations of “Frankenstein” perfectly balances the beauty of the grotesque with the grotesque itself.
Minimalist sets, head-spinning colors, and intimate-yet-cartoonish performances all untether the narrative from space and time, creating a freeing, unconventional style that is a refreshing take on the Gothic. The film roils with absurdity and visceral energy, bringing it dangerously close to becoming an instant cult classic.
—Emily Sawan
- Director: Grace Glowicki
- Principal Cast: Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie, Leah Doz, Lowen Morrow
- Country: Canada
- Year: 2025
- Running Time: 82 min.
- Producer: Yona Strauss, Ben Petrie, Grace Glowicki
- Screenplay: Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie
- Cinematographers: Rhayne Vermette
- Editors: Lev Lewis
- Music: U.S. Girls
- Website: Official Film Website
- Awards: SXSW 2025 (NEON Auteur Award Winner)
- Filmography: Tito (2019)
- Language: English
- Format: DCP
- US Distributor: Cartuna x Dweck
- International Sales: Yellow Veil Pictures