Dead Lover – Movie Review (3/5)

DEAD LOVER is a horror comedy that feels like a theatrical play that was recorded. As such, I admit I was torn. On the one hand, it’s made with passion and full of weird and quirky elements, which I do love. However, on the other hand, I wanted it to utilize the film medium more. And yet, that’s clearly on me and not the movie’s fault. Read our Dead Lover movie review here!

DEAD LOVER is a wonderfully weird horror comedy. And as much as I say “wonderful”, I also found myself completely confounded by the experience. As someone who has enjoyed many plays in theaters of all sizes and styles, I felt like I had decided to watch a movie and was now presented with a play. And that, admittedly, threw me for a loop.

If you start to watch this movie and know what you’re in for, then I can imagine you’ll have a blast with it. Sort of like loving the weirdness of The Rocky Horror Picture Show or the beginning of One Cut of the Dead, where you know everything is “off” for a reason. You just have to surrender to its style, which I wasn’t ready for at first.

Continue reading our Dead Lover movie review below. Find it in US and UK theaters from March 20, 2026.

We’re back in the world of Mary Shelley

Once again, we’re back in the universe of Mary Shelley, and trying to reanimate something dead. However, Dead Lover is in stark contrast to both Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride! Both are movies I enjoyed immensely, and where I got pretty much what I expected.

With Dead Lover, we’re in a completely different arena of storytelling. In fact, as already mentioned, we’re more in the world of theater than working within the typical film medium. While I can acknowledge that this is a very deliberate choice, I was not expecting it to such an extent.

We meet a lonely Gravedigger (Grace Glowicki), who constantly stinks as a result of her job. Yes, she reeks of death from working with digging graves and being around corpses. Then, one fine day, she meets the man of her dreams (Ben Petrie).

Someone who not only accepts her funk but downright adores her because of it. After an intense and short affair, he drowns at sea, which means the Gravedigger will have to use science to get him back. The kind of mad science that Dr. Frankenstein and Dr. Euphronious dabbled in.

As a result, Dead Lover is as much sci-fi madness as it is a horror comedy, and even a romance!

Watch Dead Lover in theaters

This wild genre-mix of a movie comes from actor and director Grace Glowicki, who also co-wrote the screenplay with her co-star Ben Petrie. Having recently watched them together in Honey Bunch, I was so excited to watch another movie with them already. Also, I loved the classic Shakespearean style of gender-bending performances.

It was shot on a black box stage, which was something I wish I had been aware of ahead of watching it (again, that is entirely on me), and I can clearly see that audiences who love everything from Rocky Horror to the wacky ways of Monty Python and even John Waters will have fun with this one.

I watch a lot of movies, and I’m ready for any budget or style, but this was still very unexpected. And yet, I have to acknowledge that the filmmaker (who is also the star of the movie) went all in on the theatrical vibe. I have to honor that while also being honest about my less-than-enthusiastic experience, which I believe is due more to my own expectations than what the film offers.

The runtime is just over 80 minutes, so it’s pretty tight storytelling. Also, Dead Lover is presented in STINK-O-VISION༄ in select theaters. If you can find that, then I would absolutely recommend opting for that. Just allow the movie to take over all your senses. Had I been more aware of what I was about to watch, I think I would have had a much better experience, as I can recognize its qualities.

Dead Lover is out in theaters on March 20, 2026. 

Details

Directed by Grace Glowicki
Written by Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie
Starring Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie, Leah Doz, and Lowen Morrow