Review by Jon Donnis
Dead Bride is a new "spine-tingling supernatural horror" from Italian writer-director Francesco Picone.
The film is very atmospheric, the music is just about right, and it helps bring up the tension. The jump scares are well-timed and not overused, and the ending is decent if a bit predictable.
Alyson (Jennifer Mischiati) inherits her childhood home after the suicide death of her estranged father, who had given her up for adoption at the age of 9. Alyson and her husband, Richard (Christoph Hülsen), along with their infant child, want a fresh start, so they decide to move into the inherited house where she grew up. Now, why you would want a fresh start in your childhood home is a question for another day, but as soon as they move in, things start to go wrong. Alyson is haunted by memories of an unhappy childhood; she was abused by her mother, who had mental health issues and ended up in an asylum, which was the main cause of her being given up for adoption. So when Richard goes away on a work trip, strange things start to happen. Alyson decides to explore the old house and starts to see ghosts not long after she stops taking her medicine.
Eventually, a priest (Sean James Sutton) is called to the house to exorcise the demons. Despite Alyson being an atheist, she goes along with it. Before you know it, the child has been taken, and a psychic medium (Michael Segal) is called who reveals that the house is haunted by a pregnant bride who was murdered. This spirit has called upon a demon called Asmodeus (a prince of demons and hell) who has granted the wish of the murdered bride to return from the dead, and that is when all hell breaks loose.
This is a pretty straightforward supernatural horror film that ticks all the boxes: creepy music, jump scares, possessions, and so on. At bang on 80 minutes, it hits the magical runtime for a horror film.
Jennifer Mischiati puts in a strong performance as Alyson and is convincing in her role as a haunted woman with mommy issues.
The Good
Very well filmed, everything looks great. A simple and straightforward plot that is easy to follow. Strong performance by Jennifer Mischiati. And some decent jump scares which seem rare in horror films these days.
The Bad
Dodgy dubbing of some of the characters does stick out a bit, but doesn't spoil the film.
Overall
Sometimes you just want a simple horror film, with ghosts, possessions and jump scares, and Dead Bride delivers on all three.
I enjoyed the film, a perfect run time, easy to watch.
I score Dead Bride a solid 8.5/10
On UK digital on 20 March 2023, courtesy of Trinity Creative.
Out Now - https://amzn.to/40hM3k9
