Review: Immortal

Immortal, a Horror/Thriller anthology film, offers four different tales that explore the age-old question of “What would happen if you discovered you could not die?”. The segments all deliver, although as with most anthology films, some were stronger than others. Ranging from brief moments of extreme gore, but also surprising poignancy, Immortal is an enjoyable and entertaining film which demonstrates that maybe eternal life is not all it is cracked up to be.

The four unrelated stories start off with “Chelsea”. Directed by Rob Margoiles, I found this to be the most fun of the bunch. Dylan Baker stars as concerned teacher Mr. Shagis, who is reaches out to the titular Chelsea (Lindsay Mushett). Chelsea is a talented student athlete who seems to be getting too much, ahem, attention from her track coach. Without giving away too much of the plot, the piece reflects upon the inherent savage that resides inside the most seemingly innocent of people. It also includes some fantastic monologuing from Dylan Baker, who delivers Jon Dabach’s dialogue with manic glee.

“Gary and Vanessa”, directed by Danny Issacs, follows a suburban couple who are nearing bankruptcy.  Wanting to continue to support his pregnant wife and unborn child, Gary (Brett Edwards) concocts a scheme that involves his life insurance. Vanessa (a great Agnes Brucker), is convincing as the hesitant and worn out wife, and there is an amusing cameo by Mario Van Peebles as a cable guy who is necessary to their plans. The most “horror” of the bunch, the piece also serves as a wry cautionary tale against the lengths to which some may go to keep up an unnecessarily excessive lifestyle.

The third installment, “Ted and Mary”, is a heartbreaking study on the choice of an elderly couple to move forward with assisted suicide. After battling years of painful cancer, Mary (Robin Bartlett) and Ted (Tony Todd) decide to let a documentary film crew led by Alex (Vanessa Lengies) interview them before Ted helps Mary pass on painlessly. The performances by both leads are amazing, playing off each other flawlessly as a couple deeply in love who have reached the end of their journey. It is a special treat to see Todd, known for rougher and menacing roles, reveal a restrained and more vulnerable performance as Mary’s supportive husband. To death do they part. Or not.

We wrap up with “Warren”. While enjoyable, I found this to be the least effective portion of the film.  Directed by Jon Orbach, whose strong script is a highlight of all four segments, it lacks the shock or strong emotion of the previous stories. Warren (Samm Levine) is a young man who is struck down by a hit and run driver on his birthday. He survives, after a painful recovery. However, he discovers he can no longer eat or sleep. This makes him wonder if tracking down his would-be-murderer will bring him some source of satisfaction.

There are some inconsistencies, which can be explained by the different perspectives of the filmmakers and the characters themselves. For example: Why does a violent death seem very painful to one character, but not another? How have so many characters not realized that they were deathproof at this point?

The cast and dialogue of Immortal are very strong. Although the individual stories do not delve deeply into the concept of eternal life, each one does enough to keep the viewer invested and entertained. The film also leaves the viewer pondering how they may react to their own immortality, which is a powerful thought indeed.