‘The Civil Dead’: A Fun, Slightly Tragic Ghostly Bromance [Review]
Being haunted by a ghost is generally considered to be a terrifying ordeal. Those afflicted with the ability to see the dead are forced to investigate an unsolved mystery, conduct a purifying seancé, or just pack their bags and move out. The indie dark comedy The Civil Dead goes down another avenue altogether. What if you saw a ghost and didn’t really do anything about it?
Proving that slackerdom is still alive and well, Clay is an out-of-work L.A. photographer content to spend his days snapping pics of mundane street life. Taking a photo of a random sign or a pipe with four locks wrapped around it isn’t necessarily art. Played by director and co-writer Clay Tatum, the character of Clay is an exaggerated version of the filmmaker. He takes pride in documenting transitory objects around the city of angels that most people would never notice. (He seems to share some DNA with Elliot Gould’s character in Little Murders who wanders around taking pictures of dogshit in New York City.)
Clay definitely has an eye, it’s just not for photography. When he runs into his old high school buddy Whit (Whitmer Thomas) on one of his walks, Clay doesn’t realize at first that he’s the only one that can see him. When Whit reveals he’s a ghost, Clay seems more annoyed than frightened.
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Luckily, his mostly put-together girlfriend Whitney (Whitney Weir) is out of town. So, the two of them have time to reconnect and figure out what to do about Clay’s newfound abilities. Always looking for a quick buck, Clay is more interested in selfishly exploiting their situation instead of investigating.
In the most entertaining scene in The Civil Dead, Clay uses Whit to cheat at cards at a big-stakes game in the Hollywood Hills. After the score, Whit grows increasingly attached to Clay. Slowly, Clay starts to realize that his friendly ghost is turning into a paranormal stalker.
Before making The Civil Dead together, Tatum and Thomas had been IRL friends for years. Their natural, low-key chemistry is infectious and the stoned banter between them never grows too tiresome. However, it starts to become abundantly clear early on that this peculiar relationship is going to end badly. Clay is too self-absorbed and apathetic to be a good friend to the recently deceased. Whit is too frightened of being alone in his new eternal landscape.
Early on, it’s established that the rules of time and space play out a little differently between the living and the dead. As a result, Clay’s charming listlessness starts to subside, revealing a much darker side. From there, The Civil Dead gets a lot less civil.
The Civil Dead opens on February 3 in limited release and will expand in theaters before its digital release on February 17.
Check out the trailer below:
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The Civil Dead
Summary
The Civil Dead takes the bones of a ghost story and spits out a dark indie comedy with a surprisingly sinister twist.
