Finding Love Among The Dead: “I’m In Love With A Dead Girl” (2016)

Spring is back in Canada. Every spring is an opportunity for new life and renewal, as well as to dust off what remains of the past winter. While some may toil in their yards trying to get it ready for planting flowers and gardening, others turn to romance and looking for that one true love. But where does a person find someone to date and possibly connect with? A speed dating session? Maybe through websites or smartphone apps? If all else fails, would you go so far as to dig up someone’s grave?

In the 12-minute short film I’m In Love With A Dead Girl written and directed by Brandon Rhiness, we meet Spencer Milton (played by Tom Antoni). In Spencer’s mind, life is good. He has his hobbies and his friends. But, as one of his friends points out, he is encouraged to seek out a girlfriend. After a few dates with different women, he reads an article on the Internet about Lucy Raven (Afton Rentz) who was killed in a hit-and-run. Upon reflection, he decides to dig Lucy out of her grave and give her a chance. As a result, Spencer faces a few awkward moments and a moment of reckoning. Watch the full short below:

 

Short Film Fan spoke with Brandon to learn more about why he made I’m In Love With A Dead Girl, as well as to get a deeper understanding of the film’s meaning.

Short Film Fan: Why did you decide to produce I’m In Love With A Dead Girl?

Brandon Rhiness: I had just come off shooting the first two episodes of the web series Mental Case that I write and direct. Those were my first “real” filmmaking projects (I don’t include the really bad short films I made in college. Lol!).  Those episodes were extremely low budget. Series co-creator Afton Rentz and I paid for everything out of pocket.

But now that I had a bit of experience behind me, I knew I could do better. The idea for Dead Girl came to me one day and I wrote the script over a couple days. At a Mental Case meeting with Afton, I pitched the idea to her because I wanted her to play the dead girl. She liked it and came on board.

This time, I wanted a bigger budget, so we raised money through Indiegogo. I promoted the hell out of the project, got on TV and in the newspapers and we raised enough money to shoot the film!

SFF: Would you classify your short as a romantic comedy, a horror film or something completely different?

BR: I’ve always had difficulty with that question. It’s hard when submitting it to festivals because I never know what category to submit it under. I’d say it’s a horror/paranormal thriller/comedy. It’s all of those, but at the same time none of those. Lol!

People laugh when they see the film, but it also got accepted into a horror festival. So, I guess the film is whatever you want it to be.

SFF: What was your biggest challenge that you faced when you were making this film?

BR: The biggest challenge was coming up with the money. When you ask people to give you money to make a film, they want to know their money is in good hands and the film will get made. I didn’t have much of a track record since the Mental Case episodes hadn’t even been released publicly at this point. But I did have a few years of writing and publishing comic books under my belt, so I think that demonstrated that I could get a project done.

When it came time for the actual shoot itself, everything went very smoothly. We have a great crew.

SFF: The ending feels like it is open to interpretation by the audience. What explanation from the viewers has made the most sense to you?

BR: Yeah, I’ve heard different interpretations of it, and I don’t want to say anybody is right or wrong. The way I see it, in Spencer’s mind, he was in love and doing a beautiful thing. But in reality, he was taking advantage of Lucy because she was dead and wasn’t a willing participant. So when she comes back at the end…she intends to punish him for his crime.

But by all means, if anybody has a different view, I’d love to hear it!

SFF: What message did you want to get across to the audience with I’m In Love With A Dead Girl?

BR: Don’t dig up corpses, kids!

 

Short Film Fan Review: I’m In Love With A Dead Girl is a dark romantic comedy that is very much open to interpretation. For example, one could interpret that Spencer was trying too hard to have a relationship with someone who was not interested, thus the relationship was a ‘dead issue’. Also, Spencer and Lucy as a couple could also be viewed as an example of one of those relationships keeps going when it really should not. Finally, Spencer could be seen as living in the past and trying to relive a dead relationship. It is a bit challenging to find them at first, but these and many other interpretations can be found in this short. So, it will be necessary for the viewer to watch the film a few times in order to make his or her own interpretations.

As an extra note, it was impressive to learn that this short was put together with funding via Indiegogo. Many independent films are beginning to turn to sites like Indiegogo to help them with their production fundraising needs. Fundraising is a tough activity, but can be rewarding in the end when the fundraising goal is met.  So, if you a happen to hear about a Canadian short film conducting a crowdfunding campaign, consider contributing a few dollars to it. Your generosity could ensure that independent projects such as I’m In Love With A Dead Girl have a chance to thrive.