by John Noonan
Worth: $13.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Simone Collins, Charlie Maher, Catherine Siggins, Olwen Fouere, Nigel O’Neill
Intro:
… a bleak folk horror …
Despite the tile suggesting a zombie romp at a Beatles concert, All You Need is Death is a bleak folk horror that echoes the effects of indigenous culture being commodified for profit and gain.
Wedding singer Anna (Simone Collins) and European boyfriend Aleks (Charlie Maher) roam Ireland looking for obscure folk songs that have never been committed to paper, let alone recorded, and then sell them on to the highest bidder. Sometimes they pay to hear the songs, and sometimes they don’t, but they record them without the consent of the singer. Sure, they can argue that they’re keeping alive songs that have the potential to disappear from history, but let’s be honest, the money is also pretty good.
Soon, the couple catch wind of a song so old that it’s forged in a language long since dead. The song belongs to Rita (Olwen Fouere), who had it passed on to her by her mother, who had it passed on to her by her mother and so on. Having only one male child of her own, Breezeblock (Nigel O’Neill), the song will die with Rita as it must never be heard or sung by men. Anna and Aleks can’t help but speed over to Ulster to grab a bootleg, but find that they’ve been intercepted by fellow collector, Agnes (Catherine Siggins), who is also keen to hear the song.
With Rita laying down the lore of the song, anyone with a cursory knowledge of horror movies can predict that rules are going to be broken, and certain things are going to hit the fan. And while they do, it’s not with the force of a chainsaw but an unsettling whisper in the shadows. Even when Breezeblock comes seeking bloody revenge, he almost appears apologetic.
Director Paul Duane came up with the idea of All You Need Is Death after working on his documentary, While You Live, Shine, which saw a musicologist wanting to preserve music. Indeed, there is an obsession to collecting, where people must ensure that they are the only ones to be able to say they have something coveted. Here, that obsession leads to blood, death and pregnancy. Yes, you read that right.
The film certainly presents some creepy vibes in the first half with Aleks and Anna rubbing shoulders with collectors both innocent and not so innocent. Rita’s home looks like a bomb has gone off in a toy factory, while Fouere crawls out of a literal closet to sing. However, having set everything up, the film seems to hit the brakes and refuses to pick up speed until the very end. A slow burn is nothing to be sniffed at, and yet there needs to be something which keeps the audience willing to stay seated in these periods. There are elements there, including Aleks’ defection to the side of Agnes that feel too drawn out to fully engage. No one wants to rush a narrative if they don’t have to, but sometimes you don’t want the 12-inch remix of a story.
That said, Duane is to be commended for not spoon-feeding the audience come the final denouement. If you’re looking for something to pick away at long after the credits have rolled, this may tickle you in the right spot. Everyone else might be left wanting.
