He Never Died

source: He Never Died

Its an interesting idea, a story of immortality but its horribly slow pacing and bleakly nihilistic overtones are so over baked, after twenty or so minutes, you genuinely wish you were dead. I know there are some pretentious types who are going to bang on about it being clever and subtle, well no, its just painfully dull and as meaningless as a life that never ends, which in reality means its never really lived. Amazed that so much awful rubbish gets made into TV and cinema. 2/10 from me and only because its not the actors fault this is such utterly pointless crap.

Every once in a while there comes along a flick which gives you a good ol' sheer surprise. You are left exclaiming - "Are there any more of such movies?", "Why don't they make more of such films?" The humble demeanour (and low budget) of such films disguises their ingenuity. Well, "He Never Died" is one of those films. An unexpected movie that is dark in nature, funny throughout and leaves you feeling satiated when over. The kind of satiety derived from a piece of good cinema. 'He Never Died' approaches a subject which is favourite staple of horror genre with a brilliant ingenuity. And a twist. Such ingenuity, to my memory, was visible recently only in 'What We Do In Shadows (2015)'. Humour here treats the audience as adults - grown-up sapiens capable of using grey matter. The dark bloody humour is quirkily deadpan and phenomenally subtle. Humour is not let down till the last scene and the script is tightly knit till the end. Story deliciously alloys crime, revenge, supernatural and dry, dark comedy into a bizarre story. Usually the films of low budgets drop the guard in second half and veer into banality. Not this film. I truly relished the raucousness of the film sprinkled with giddy gore till the end, and beyond. The effort from scriptwriters and director deserves standing ovation. To me the actors were unknown. They deserve praise too- especially Henry Rollins in the lead and Kate Greenhouse in the support. Performances don't come more deadpan in this original. Writing anything about the story will inadvertently ruin the suspense which is the crux of the film. The film never fully answers anything, it gives you what you need to know and leaves the rest to suspense. For me it was brilliant. Unfortunately, you get only one or two of such films every year. Hidden gems. I really hope they make more of such movies.

Incomprehensible supernatural twaddle, served up with heaps of low-budget gore, rank amateur acting, somnambulant directing, snooze-inducing editing, and no-money-for-a-gaffer cinematography (and I use the term loosely). This is absolutely the last time I will trust a rating of a low-budget indie on IMDb. Too many self- interested parties are rigging the game. No one with half a brain could rate this more than a 2, and then only if your sole interest in movies was watching fake blood flow onto piles of cheap plastic gore. My advice to those with a vested interest (crew, cast, investors, whoever) who give these execrable disasters top ratings: stop trying to con the public into watching your miserable movies; instead, why not spend your time making better films?

The secluded anti-social Jack (Henry Rollins) spends most of the time at home sleeping and watching television. Every now and then he meets the hospital intern Jeremy (Booboo Stewart) to buy blood; he goes to the nearby diner where he is attended by the waitress Cara (Kate Greenhouse) that likes him; and he plays bingo in the local church. Out of the blue, he receives a phone call from his former girlfriend that asks him to meet their daughter Andrea (Jordan Todosey) in a bar. He brings Andrea home, breaking his routine and turning his life upside-down. When she is abducted by a local mafia, Jack is forced to unleash his latent violence. "He Never Died" is a strange movie that has potential of cult-movie. The dark humor is excellent and Henry Rollins has top-notch performance in the role of a weird cannibal creature that never dies. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "Ele Nunca Morre" ("He Never Dies")

"My landlord thought I was robbing my own apartment. Really? Isn't your landlord, like, 90 years old?" A brilliant, original horror. That's what you might say after watching "He never died". A subtle mix of sometimes gory images and clever humor. And this shown in an even surprising way by Henry Rollins, the former front-man of the legendary punk band "Black flag". A bundle of muscles who already surprised in the past with his poetry. And now he shows that he's also capable to take a leading role for his account. His stoic calmness and indifference create hilarious situations several times. And the story on his own is contrived in such an original way. I watched with amazement and after a while I was wondering what the hell it was about anyway. Did it have something to do with vampires? Was Jack a solitary zombie (due to his grayish look) who attempts to remain anonymous? And what about those demonic and satanic sounds he sometimes makes? Jack (Henry Rollins) seems depressed and drags on through life as a worn out man. The only things he does to fill his days is sleep, eat something in the same small restaurant and occasionally play bingo among the elderly. Waitress Cara (Kate Greenhouse) tries to change Jack's fatalistic attitude. But she isn't really successful in doing that. Jack clearly isn't enthusiastic about her flirting. Most of the time a quiet, nondescript look is his answer to it and then he turns his back on her without blinking. Also, his daughter Andrea (Jordan Todosey), who appeared out of nowhere, can't break down this erected wall of aloofness. It's obvious Jack isn't an ordinary, average citizen. The title of the film, of course, reveals much and isn't really a spoiler. Apparently Jack is immortal and needs his dose of blood on a regular base. When his blood supplier Jeremy (Booboo Stewart) (an intern who works in a hospital, I suppose) runs into trouble with a local gang of criminals, he's no longer able to provide Jack with the much needed blood. After his daughter is being kidnapped, all hell breaks loose with the obvious casualties. Except Jack, of course ... Rollins is a performer and this movie was the appropriate stage for him. His imperturbable gaze and brute force gave him a Schwarzenegger-like appearance. The limited conversations with brief, evasive answers contributed to the overall tone of this absurd film. A fatal head injury made such an impression on him as a tiny splinter in his finger. Unmoved he uses pliers to treat the injuries. At that time I wondered whether it was meant humorously or creepy. He's an emotionless bloke who storms through a decaying society like a bulldozer, full of rage and aggressiveness. At first Jack seems to be a dull figure, but when his true identity is revealed in the end, his way of reacting and his world-weariness is justified. I'm afraid that "He never died" will only appeal to a limited audience . And I belong to that limited audience. I appreciate such an absurd horror filled with brutal violence and a special storyline once and a while. The subtle humor was enjoyable. And above all, they made sure it didn't become a parody. "He never died" exceeds all horror-comedy up to now. And probably until eternity ...

I haven't enjoyed a movie so much in a long time. (SPOILERS!!!) The story is very refreshing - a brand new take on the first murderer in human history. He is funny without meaning to be, and strangely endearing (definitely) without meaning to be. He is a cannibal on a diet because somehow, after thousands of years, he decided he didn't like killing people. He finds out that he has a barely-adult daughter who has no idea who or what her father is, but ends up giving him the opportunity to care about someone. His waitress friend also surprises him by being the only person he can remember that can't be bought out. This movie is the basis for a TV series that is bound to be a hit! I can't wait!

If this delirious horribly acted and horribly written movie can get almost 7 and even a TV Series, people must be mentally sick. Which is anyway the conclusion I had already reached since a while, by seeing how successful all those horrors are: people are delighted seeing others suffering. This movie is REALLY poorly directed, has got a ridiculous script, the interaction between characters is completely not credible, bad guys are retarded, the main character is an immortal who lives since a LOT of time but acts like a dumb and is so horribly acted and his part so poorly written that his personality and his behaviour is not credible at all, it is just ridiculous the way he acts, talks, thinks. Most of the lines are so stupid that must be painful to play for any actor able to understand how embarrassing for their career is what their are acting. How, WHY can people like something like this? WHAT on earth can be liked in this? The fact that he is a cannibal? Why should that be cool? This is AT BEST a b-movie of low quality and bad taste. If this get a 7, then Taxi Driver should get a 20.

The last movie I saw at Mile High Horror Film Festival was easily one of the best. He Never Died is a story about a man outside of his own time. An immortal tough guy / bingo enthusiast named Jack (Henry Rollins) is targeted by goons after helping a friend escape an attempted debt collection. If you've seen the trailer, you know that this really doesn't go well for the bad guys. Jack is a complete social outcast. He follows a routine every day. He eats at the same diner, he walks, he plays bingo and when forced to talk he tries to be as vague as possible. He's completely walled off, and only the efforts of his until-recently estranged teenage daughter and the waitress of his favorite restaurant can get anything out of him. At its core, the movie is a brutally violent look into a small slice of an unending life. The isolation and loneliness are palpable. Jack tries to blend in and go unnoticed, avoiding all connection when he can since it will inevitably end in pain. More than that, he seems to be the magnet that attracts suffering to those around him. We follow Jack as he weaves a web of destruction through bad men and the good people in his own life. At times he seems to be completely without empathy. He is selfish, but in an effort to keep those that he would hurt away. Despite the dark nature of this film, it is quite funny. Moments of levity are sprinkled in with violence and it helps to keep you engaged. There were many times when the theater erupted into laughter, only to be silenced moments later in reaction to the bodily horrors being witnessed. The actual horror comes from the damage inflicted by Jack, but also the damage he takes. At one point you see him performing surgery on himself in full gory detail. The effects are perfect and deliciously disgusting. This movie stood apart on a weekend filled with revenge flicks and grotesque examples of human nature. Henry Rollins's performance was a clinic on cold anger and silent frustration. His reactions showed a boiling desperation that occasionally overflowed into furious violence. He made a character that could easily be wooden or unlikable into one of the best featured in the entire MHHFF. I would highly recommend He Never Died to any horror fan. It's not a movie to scare you, but the action is very well done and Steven Ogg (GTA V, Better Call Saul) is a great bad guy. Rumor has it that this will end up being a series of movies. I really hope so, I'd love to spend a few more hours in Jack's world. Lord knows he'll be spending quite a few more hours in mine. For more reviews like this go to humanechoes.com