When I interviewed writer/actor Trent Haaga, he described Deadgirl as “The River’s Edge meets A Simple Plan with a zombie sex slave.” And now that I’ve seen it, I have to admit that’s a pretty apt description. After making the rounds on the festival circuit, garnering mega-buzz and dividing audiences wherever it played, Deadgirl is now out on DVD.
Written by Trent Haaga and directed by Gadi Harel and Marcel Sarmiento, Deadgirl is the story of two slackers who find a naked dead woman chained to a gurney. Well, that’s a bit of a simplification. Actually, she’s not dead per se—but she’s not alive either. She’s somewhere in between. Rickie (Shiloh Fernandez) and J.T. (Noah Segan) are high school buddies, outsiders who are moving in different directions. Rickie is quiet and artistic; J.T. is crude and going nowhere fast. One day, they cut class and go hang out in an abandoned hospital, drinking beer and destroying private property. When they finally work their way down to the basement, they find the deadgirl (Jenny Spain). Rickie wants to release her and get help for her, but J.T. has a different idea—a much more disturbing idea. He wants to keep her and use her as their personal sex toy. J.T.’s rationalization is, hey, it’s not like she’s alive, right? Rickie doesn’t want any part of it, but agrees to think about it. Things get wildly out of hand and the film races to what eventually seems like an inevitable conclusion.
Note the “eventually” in the previous sentence. One of the things that most impressed me about Deadgirl was that, for the majority of the film, I had no idea where it was headed. I could not predict what was going to happen next, which is an admirable quality in a horror film these days. But, truthfully, I don’t think Deadgirl really is a horror film. At its core, it’s a study of friendship and the way life pulls people apart. Sure, there’s a zombie, but she’s really just the mother of all complicating incidences. This film is the story of Rickie and J.T. and the results of the choices they make. These are two dead-end kids with no real future ahead of them. Finding the deadgirl is the best, and worst, thing ever to happen to them. And the decisions they make will prove pivotal. And though Rickie struggles to do the right thing at every turn, it soon becomes clear that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Shiloh Fernandez and Noah Segan are both wonderful in roles that are, essentially, the ego and the id. Fernandez plays Rickie as a little boy lost, overwhelmed by events but always struggling to be good. Segan’s J.T. is the blustering loudmouth everyone knows. Haaga’s script is very well crafted, depicting adolescent male camaraderie quite realistically. It eventually pushes us to the edge of comfort while delivering enough black humor to make the lurid subject matter palatable. Though violent, Deadgirl never seems exploitative.
Co-directors Harel and Sarmiento have made a very good-looking independent film. More and more, digital cameras are allowing talented filmmakers to deliver quality films at low budgets. Working with such digital video equipment, Harel and Sarmiento were able to capture both ethereal imagery and stark, grimy interiors clearly and effectively. I know purists still argue against DV, but if I hadn’t known Deadgirl was filmed on digital video, I wouldn’t have guessed it.
As I mentioned earlier, Deadgirl has been polarizing audiences everywhere, with good reason. The deadgirl is brutally abused in the film, though when given the chance she can take care of herself, all feral growls and gnashing teeth. But I think her character is an interesting, though unsettling, plot device. She acts as the canvas on which the male characters paint their souls. And through her brutalization, we see who and what these characters are. Is that a good enough reason to portray such horrific cruelty onscreen? That’s a question I can’t answer for you. I recommend you see this film with some friends and decide for yourself. If nothing else, Deadgirl is sure to provoke a spirited conversation—and that’s never a bad thing.
~Theron Neel
You’ve no doubt heard that you can’t judge a book by its cover. If you don’t believe it, see actress/filmmaker Elske McCain. At first glance, Elske is the ultimate horror vixen—all lush body and sultry stare. But talk with her for a few minutes and you begin to see the truth: Elske is actually a geek princess, exceedingly articulate and knowledgeable about the horror films she loves. In other words, she’s a fanboy’s dream. I recently wrangled Elske into a conversation about filmmaking, scream queens and nature run amok.
You started as a dancer, right? Have you always had aspirations to be an actress, or did you just kinda stumble across this career direction?
Speaking of scream queens, do you have any personal faves? Are there any ladies out there you consider to be role models?
You have worked your way up in fright flicks. Lots of small roles to start, but that’s changing. You are now doing what a lot of women in horror are doing—taking control and creating their own projects. Do you have some insight on this?
How many of your heroes have you had the chance to work with so far? Any special memories?
Now that you’ve gotten a taste of working on your own projects, do you have anything else planned in the pipeline? 
Toxie returns!? You read it here first, people. Elske, I hear that you love the “nature run amok” horror genre. Me too! My favorite is 
Trent Haaga has been knocking around the world of independent horror for almost a decade. He got his start, doing anything and everything, at Troma Entertainment, Lloyd Kaufman’s infamous production house. Though primarily known as an actor, Haaga has recently found success as a screenwriter—
Is this the first time you’ve played a historical character? Did you do any research on Clyde, or did you just go by what was on the page?
Those early days at Troma have taken on an almost mythic quality, kind of like the Wild West of filmmaking. I’m sure the reality was much less glamorous, right?
I have to say, man, as an actor you have this quality that allows you to make any character you play likable, no matter how despicable they may be. I actually felt a little sorry for your character in 
I’d like to ask you about 
Hey, it happened the way it was supposed to, man. Tell me, how was your experience with the filming? Are you happy with the filmmakers’ interpretation of your script?
With the film Jessicka Rabid, writer/director 
One character you don’t feel sorry for is Brad. Jeff Sisson plays him as an unusual mixture of slacker and sociopath. It’s rather disconcerting that Sisson is so convincing. Cisiany Olivar’s Abby initially appears compassionate but, as if falling under her family’s spell, she soon exhibits the bad behavior typical of the Hoffman clan. Seemingly Jessicka’s only friend, Abby might actually be her worst enemy.
I was serious when I mentioned the grindhouse/arthouse paradox. While the film would be right at home in Times Square circa 1970 as a double feature with an Andy Milligan flick, it is sprinkled with frequent touches of surrealism. Although Reel often is able to use the flick’s low budget to his advantage in effectively evoking the aura of exploitation cinema, it does occasionally hurt the film. Some of the effects are just passable, and the screening version I received has a woefully uneven audio mix, but this issue will be corrected before wide release.
