Movie Review: The Dead Center

The Dead Center *** 1/2 / *****

Directed by: Billy Senese.

Written by: Billy Senese.

Written by: Shane Carruth (Daniel Forrester), Poorna Jagannathan (Sarah Grey), Jeremy Childs (Michael Clark), Bill Feehely (Edward Graham), Andy McPhee (Ben), Rachel Agee (Anne), Jackie Welch (Donna), J. Thomas Bailey (Travis), Maureen Wildman (Ms. Lewis), Jessejames Locorriere (Kevin Burke).

 

Can Shane Carruth direct a movie again? It’s been six years since his masterpiece Upstream Color was released, and I think because Carruth has only directed two films, the film is often forgotten – and not given its proper place as one of the very best films of the decade. He did everything for that film – directed, wrote, composed the score, edited, did the cinematography and had the male lead (even if Amy Seimetz was given the standout role). Since then, Carruth hasn’t done much – a little on The Girlfriend Experience TV show, acted in a couple of shorts with a cameo in a feature (Swiss Army Man) and basically hasn’t done much publicly. I bring this up of course, because Carruth has the lead role – and acted as a producer – for Billy Senese’s low budget horror film The Dead Center. It’s a good movie – and Carruth is even better than the film in the lead role. But what it really did for me was remind me of how talented Carruth is – and how much I want to see the next film from the brilliant mind that came up with Upstream Color.

 

As for The Dead Center itself – this is a good, low budget horror movie – kind of a zombie film, but not quite. In it, Carruth plays Dr. Daniel Forrester, a psychiatrist with a bleeding heart working in a hospital ward that takes people in for 3 days when they are suffering from an acute psychiatric episode – and then basically, just lets them go again – not really curing them, but getting them through the worst part. Carruth wants to do more – and often runs afoul of his boss and old friend (girlfriend?), Dr. Sarah Grey (Poorna Jagannathan) – who tries to remind him what they can and cannot do – and the limited resources they have. Daniel, of course, doesn’t listen – doesn’t want to hear that. Things get strange with the arrival of Michael Clark (Jeremy Childs) – who appears to be in a catatonic state. Worrying that if they just send back to the ER, he’ll be placed in a corner and forgotten about, Daniel admits him to the ward – even though at first Michael says nothing. What we know that Daniel doesn’t is that Michael has already died – an apparent suicide – and his body has gone missing from the morgue. The medical examiner starts digging into this missing dead body – and how he ended up dead in the first place – and Daniel tries to help Michael, whose ability to speak – and remember – slowly comes back.

 

The Dead Center is a slow building film – but one that keeps you in its grip as it builds. Writer/director Billy Senese is working kind in the zombie genre, kind of in the possession genre – and kind of its own thing. It’s clear that there wasn’t a lot of money spent on this movie – but it’s also clear it doesn’t really need it. Senese is talented at building the suspense, while almost never leaving the hospital ward – doing a lot with flickering lights, CCTV cameras that don’t quite capture everything, and a series of interviews between Daniel and Michael which dole out a little bit of information at a time. As the film progresses, Daniel becomes increasingly unhinged – increasingly like one of his patients.

 

If there is a disappointment in the film, it’s that like many horror films before it, The Dead Center doesn’t quite have a way to end itself as good as its setup. Sooner or later, you have to explain everything that has gone on – and why – and at the same time, build to a scary, violent climax. The film never quite gets to the scary part – the film is often unsettling, but never quite gets under your skin. The ultimate explanation for what happens – and the ambiguous ending – also feel like it’s been borrowed from something else – something less ambitious than the first two acts of the film appeared to be.

 

And yet, in general, the film works quite well. It is anchored by three strong performances by Carruth, Jagannathan and Childs, and is able to build suspense slowly. This isn’t Senese’s first film – but it’s the first I’ve seen (or that has gotten that much attention) – and it certainly shows he’s a director to watch. Perhaps with more money – and a better ending – he can make a great horror film. Probably not as great as something Shane Carruth directed – but we may very well be waiting a long time for another one of those.