FILM GUTTER REVIEWS: COLECAO DE HUMANOS MORTOS (DEAD HUMAN COLLECTION) (2005)

BY ALEX DAVIS 

DIR. FERNANDO RICK, BRAZIL, 21 MINS

Come on, could you resist a short film with a title like that? Whether or not it's inspired by the Cannibal Corpse track of the same name, it did immediately pique my interest. And the fact it's brought to you by Black Vomit films probably tells you we're wading into classic Film Gutter waters...
 
The movie itself follows the twisted Alexander, a serial killer and presumably our collector of dead human (although we never see the collection here per se). We open with him killing an unnamed female victim, with all the while a laughing man in a straitjacket giggling away maniacally. It soon becomes clear that this character, 'Madness', is one of three facets of Alexander's mind that are very much alive and real to him. Madness is joined by the gravel-voice and physically intimidating figure of Hate, and the alluring voice and form of Pleasure. It's actually a pretty effective device that gets used throughout – we've seen plenty of killers with the classic 'devil on their shoulder', but a killer with three demons all offering up individual ideas and suggestions? That can't end well. And it doesn't, as Alexander continues his spree by raping and tormenting another anonymous female victim before meeting his own end.

It's fair to say that you can't necessarily do a huge amount in 21 minutes, and indeed given when I saw here I think I could have gone for a feature film of this. There were enough interesting concepts and directorial panache from Fernando Rick that I think it could have sustained 70 or 80 minutes, maybe even more if we had delved into Alexander's history and backstory. But what it does in its alloted run time is pretty solid, and there were enough flashes of flair to lift this a bit above some of the tired old serial killer fare we often endure at Film Gutter. The whole thing was a slightly disorienting and discombobulating experience, which gave it an air of confusion very apt to the deranged mind of a serial killer. The performances on the whole were good, which each of the three 'demons' being really committed to what they are doing and Alexander himself being a sort of blank-eyed, dead-faced lackey to their foul desires (which are, of course, his foul desires).
 
It certainly has something of the look of a 70s slasher, and in no small part pays a homage to that sort of era and style. Some of the visuals almost felt lifted right out of that time, which is no criticism. It's a lively and lurid little piece that fans of gruesome serial killer pieces would probably get something out of, and certainly one that I did as well. If you were going to level a criticism it's that there's not really any message here, or anything much Dead Human Collection has to say – apart from maybe that a sense of destruction and violence can ultimately only lead inwards.
 
RATING: 7/10. A good offering in a subgenre that isn't always my favourite, Dead Human Collection isn't perfect but it has a certain energy and brashness that gives it something above many others. The acting works well, the mood is grim and sombre and the pace doesn't let up from start to finish. There's no particularly deep meaning, but even with that in mind it's likely to keep your eyes on the screen for its short runtime. I could have lived with more, but this solid 20 minutes will do just fine for 7/10.
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