“Art of the Dead”
Movie #11 of the 2025 31-Days of Horror
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When college student brings his girlfriend home to meet his wealthy family, a recently purchased collection of paintings unleash horror on the family as they become corrupted by the seven deadly sins of greed, envy, gluttony, lust, sloth, pride, and wrath.
As per typical of this type of film, although Tara Reid and Richard Grieco’s names are above the title, their screen time is negligible. The cast did a really decent job of portraying their assigned deadly sin, though the painting/animal didn’t always make sense. I felt that they tried to make the tone a bit too serious, though there’s plenty of campiness. Perhaps it would have been better had they just leaned into the dark humor a little more instead of the camp.
The story was a fun concept done on a lower budget with minimal, yet creative effects. The gore effects were really good, full props for that. The creature design was, understandably, a bit demented. Some of the most horrifying parts of the story, when the step-mom was assisting Lust, definitely was the better for using a “less-is-more” approach. Sloth would have been better with a bit less slime. I’m telling you, it didn’t entirely make sense to me. Back to the story. The entire concept of possessed art isn’t new or particularly original. That the artist was named “Dorian Wilde” makes it clear from where the screenwriter drew his inspiration. Still, somehow, the movie drew me in. I totally credit the actors.
While this isn’t a bad movie, it isn’t a good one either. I have a feeling it’s going to be one that I simply forget about.
