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August 2020




  

Why Don’t You Just Die!
Arrow Films/MVD
Blu-ray Review By: Jaime Pina



This 2018 feature from Russia will surprise many with its inventiveness, humor, action and its heart, even if it’s a heart dripping with blood and gore. Recalling the early Peter Jackson films, vintage Bugs Bunny cartoons, the Golden Age of Professional Wrestling and The Three Stooges, it delivers everything a fan of this combined stew could hope for. It is not for the squeamish and you need a certain sense of humor going in, but it is a thoroughly satisfying cinematic experience.

Matvey is a young man who is sent by his girlfriend to kill her father. Being young and in love he decides to give it a go but doesn’t realize the dad is a big, badass cop. He finds that the dad is hard to kill and things go from bad to the worst as he witnesses all kinds of drama and violence while trying to stay alive through the whole bloody ordeal.

The film was well received at festivals here in the US and comparisons were made to the style of Quentin Tarantino but that is a little unfair. The story unfolds on a single set and we learn of the characters’ backgrounds through flashbacks. Tarantino didn’t create this cinematic device but I understand the comparison. It may first appear that the film shares the irreverent attitude toward gruesome violence and death like Bad Taste or Dead/Alive but one scene really hits home with heart and soul; director Kirill Sokolov will be someone to watch. Special mention must go to the actors. Everyone in this cast turns in a stellar performance. And the special effects and staging are also first rate. The disc looks and sounds incredible and has tons of extras including an interview with author and critic Kim Newman, a trailer and four short films by the director.











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