The Civil Dead – Review
104 Minutes, Not Rated
Written by Clay Tatum and Whitmer Thomas
Directed by Clay Tatum
**NOTE: this post may be updated with audio once we actually have the chance to talk about it. Until then, you can read Mark’s review below. Remember, though, you can listen to all our discussions of this and every other movie directly over on ACAST. Stay tuned.**
Watch the trailer:
The Civil Dead | Official Trailer | Utopia – YouTube
Synopsis:
Clay is a loner photographer who enjoys a mundane life with his artist wife Whitney in Los Angeles. Whitney advises Clay, who has been creatively stagnant and unemployed for months, to go out and be productive while she’s out of town and not to “just lay in the living room and drink beer.” While taking photos out in a park, Clay happens upon his long-lost friend, Whit. After a night of catching up, Whit discloses an unsettling secret to Clay, which puts a strain on his marriage and causes him to question his own sanity.
Ever run into an old friend and find yourself not really sure why you lost touch? That guy from high school who you kinda knew, who was kinda popular, but you kinda lost track of over the years since graduation?
That guy.
That guy is Whit, and when Clay runs into him, he attempts to make nice while simultaneously trying to keep his current life walled off from complications.
That doesn’t work out so well for Clay.
SPOILER ALERT:
Whit confesses that he has not simply fallen off the map since high school, but has, in fact, died at some point and no one can see him.
Except Clay.
I know I’d think I was crazy if that happened, but Clay kind of goes with it, even if Whit starts to actually drive him crazy with his incessant need for attention because, well… he’s lonely.
Clay and Whit spend the remainder of the movie trying to figure out how to make this situation work between them.
The Civil Dead morphs from this unlikely concept into an examination of what friendship means and what one will do for friends.
And then, just as we think everything is going to work out, this crazy movie takes a dark left turn and made me literally say “they’re not going to go there, are they?”
Yep. They did.
And it totally works.
The Civil Dead could also work as a stage play, ironically, and I think it might be kind of interesting to see an adaptation like that. And interesting concept to play with.
Maybe someone should write that.
Maybe I should.
The Civil Dead is touring Alamo Drafthouses across the country with its stars, Clay Tatum and Whitmer Thomas
And remember, if the BEST thing you can say about a movie is that it’s “visually stunning,” then they’ve done something wrong.
Please don’t forget to LIKE this post, SHARE it with your friends, and FOLLOW us on TWITTER, FACEBOOK, and SUBSCRIBE to our YOUTUBE channel, as well.
And please, if you like what we do, consider helping us keep on entertaining you. You can use this handy link:
Or, you could check out the merch in Our Store:
Not only will you be helping us out if you pick up some merch, you get cool stuff to wear around (including the coveted WTFWT? logo!)
Leave a Reply