Why Don’t You Just Die!, 2018.
Directed by Kirill Sokolov.
Starring Aleksandr Kuznetsov, Vitaliy Khaev, Evgeniya Kregzhde, Michael Gor, Elena Shevchenko, and Igor Grabuzov.
SYNOPSIS:
Andrey, a detective and the world’s most horrible father brings together a terrible group of people in his apartment: his resentful actress daughter, an angry thug, and a cheated cop. Each one of them has a reason to want revenge.
What makes Why Don’t You Just Die! just an enjoyable experience is the sheer audacity of the film. Absurd, gross, and downright fun, it’s like an extreme version of The Looney Toons. This Russian horror-comedy feels like a throwback to splatter classics like early Troma releases or even Kill Bill. Completely amazed to see the spirit of those filth classics still around today. And similar to those, this is a messy movie with some significant flaws. Yet, you find yourself overlooking them and welcoming all the positives.
And surprisingly, for a shocking piece of cinema, some real shining moments transcend from “good for a splatter movie” to genuinely just good. For one, the effects of the film are so outlandish and gross that I sat in amazement at what the filmmakers could do next. Even if I didn’t want to see the next kill or moment of body horror, there’s no way to turn away from it.
You sit there staring in disturbed excitement at what director Kirill Sokolov is doing next, a feeling I haven’t had since watching early Eli Roth projects. But Sokolov is handling all of the wild moments with a surprisingly level of maturity, not trying to claim Why Don’t You Just Die! isn’t gleefully outlandish, but there’s a refinement to the shock. It’s not just someone throwing things at the screen to piss you off. There’s a method to the madness that’s highly commendable.
Mentioning Kill Bill earlier, the homages to Quentin Tarantino are extremely clear and sometimes a bit on the nose. Still, Why Don’t You Just Die! adds enough of its style of insanity never to feel like it’s ripping-off but merely paying respects to another filmmaker who lives to go elbow deep in gore.
Kirill Sokolov sees this film as his debut, and there’s quite a lot to admire for a first-time feature filmmaker. Though, maybe Sokolov doesn’t need to take notes from Tarantino on script-writing as the film goes for non-linear storytelling and only comes up with a messy story. The film is jumping around with flashbacks every few moments, and it doesn’t play as well as they intended when crafting.
With the use of a minimal location, you may feel the need to spice things up in order not to bore the viewer. That’s simply not true as Why Don’t You Just Die! could’ve benefited from stripping off some of the bells and whistles. Andrey’s revenge dinner party is already a great idea; it could’ve played out like perverted version Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope, a classic 1948 film told in real-time, and really let us fester in the madness.
I believe this is my first Russian horror film, and it’s quite fun to see my favorite genre through the lens of an entirely different country and culture. Kirill Sokolov filters horror and action through his filter, which makes Why Don’t You Just Die! worth seeing for the sheer novelty alone. You are seeing a first-time filmmaker play in a wild genre, with a weird story, and a back of references. And then you add in the factor that Why Don’t You Just Die! is well-made and not just a fun little gag, and you love it even more.
One of the biggest positive takeaways from any film is wanting to see more from the people behind it. If you can see something and go “that’s an artist who I need to see more in this medium,” then it’s a success. Playing by those rules, Why Don’t You Just Die! is a success because the desire to see more of Kirill Sokolov’s dark mind is real.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
EJ Moreno
