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Dead Lover Breakdown: Weird Romance, Scratch-n-Sniff & Theatre Horror | Streamin’ Demons
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Dead Lover gets the Streamin’ Demons treatment. Jo and guest Charlotte unpack the film’s bizarre romance, stage-play style visuals, and that wild scratch-and-sniff screening gimmick. From resurrecting a lover with a grown finger to theatrical sets and low-budget creativity, this review dives into why the film is weird, quirky, and unexpectedly fun.
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KEY MOMENTS
- Opening chaos – Jo introduces Charlotte as the “London correspondent” who attended the press screening.
- Scratch-and-sniff cinema – The wild theatre gimmick where audiences smelled scenes during the movie.
- The play-style filmmaking – Charlotte explains how the movie feels like a stage play adapted to film with minimal sets and four actors.
- The weird love story – A grieving gravedigger tries to resurrect her drowned lover through bizarre experiments… including growing a finger.
- Jo’s big take – If your “weirdo-meter” likes films like Fried Barry, this one might be your jam.
- The theatre question – Charlotte debates whether the film works better as a cinema experience or a quirky late-night TV watch.
- Theme kicker – A low-budget, eccentric indie that proves creativity can carry a film even when the resources are tiny.
Dead Lover will be available in UK Cinemas (in glorious STINK-O-VISION!) from 20th March
A lonely gravedigger who stinks of corpses finally meets her dream man, but their whirlwind affair is cut short when he tragically drowns at sea. Grief-stricken, she goes to morbid lengths to resurrect him through madcap experiments.
Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxoY-3mu04g
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Charlotte and Dead Lover Screening
00:00:07
Jo
Hey, everyone. Joe here for a special, special, special guest who did a screening in London. My London correspondent. We'll call her Charlotte. It's a name.
00:00:18
Jo
Hello, Charlotte. Welcome to the show.
00:00:22
Jo
So you went to Dead Lover. I think, right?
00:00:26
Charlotte Noon
I did.
00:00:26
Charlotte Noon
and did.
00:00:26
Jo
is that the one?
00:00:28
Jo
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, when they they're like, hey, you want a screener? Like, yeah, love a screener. Great. Here's a ticket in London. like, i don't know. I can't go to London right now. It's a matter for you guys. But you went.
00:00:40
Jo
Just walk me through it. What was like.
Scratch and Sniff Experience
00:00:44
Charlotte Noon
It was was weird.
00:00:48
Jo
Really.
00:00:48
Charlotte Noon
It was really weird. Yeah, it was weird. um I got this. a scratch and sniff card.
00:00:53
Jo
good Yeah, this think-o-vision. saw that on the PR thing. Because it is dead lover. no You don't actually smell a dead body, do you? so like some Number seven is a dead body.
00:01:05
Charlotte Noon
There's like 10 things to sniff on here. There's like, most of them smell pretty much the same. Two of them kind of smells fruity. And there's one that I really wish I hadn't hadn't tried.
00:01:17
Jo
I'm pretty sure you just described most of your dates.
00:01:22
Charlotte Noon
yeah yeah, I probably did.
00:01:23
Jo
Uh-huh. chief good Yeah, yeah. Most of them smell, like, these two smell fruity, but ah this this one I i didn't
Intimate Screening Setup
00:01:32
Jo
try. now So you go into the theater, and this is a spoiler-free, you know, synopsis of it.
00:01:39
Charlotte Noon
Yep. Yep. Yep.
00:01:43
Jo
Was it in the theater? Because I've never been to that one before. Like, you don't have to tell me the location, but was it like a proper size theater? Was it like a small press screening? All
00:01:53
Charlotte Noon
No, it's a press screening room. There was about 40, 40 seats. Yeah.
00:01:57
Jo
right, cool. it was cozy. It was intimate. was nice.
00:01:59
Charlotte Noon
It's cozy.
00:02:00
Jo
It was nice.
00:02:00
Charlotte Noon
It's nice.
00:02:00
Jo
All right. And you love horror, I'm guessing.
00:02:06
Charlotte Noon
I like horror. Yes. This wasn't horror.
00:02:09
Jo
This was not horror.
Genre and Synopsis Discussion
00:02:10
Jo
Okay, hold on.
00:02:10
Charlotte Noon
I know it's advertised as a horror comedy.
00:02:15
Charlotte Noon
Um,
00:02:15
Jo
Really?
00:02:17
Charlotte Noon
and I, I'm assuming that's because there is kind of the resurrection kind of bringing something back to life.
00:02:26
Jo
horror tropes of that. Yes.
00:02:27
Charlotte Noon
Yeah. But really it it was, it, I wouldn't have classed it as horror at all. and
00:02:34
Jo
Okay. Now, I'll read this off the IMDb as I'm so sorry. Anyone's watching my screen right now. It looks like I'm doing a Bruce Lee movie because my fucking computer decided to install every goddamn update in the fucking world as we hit record.
00:02:49
Jo
And because it's a Mac, I don't know how to fucking turn them off. So here we go. From, you're welcome, dead lover. He's like, this guy swears in the first fucking minutes. i got From IMDb.
00:03:01
Jo
A lonely gravedigger who stinks of corpses, or number eight, finally meets her dream man, but their whirlwind affair is cut short when his penis, showed no, when tragically drowns at sea.
00:03:14
Jo
Grief stricken, she goes on a morbid length to resurrect him through madcap experiments. It's written and directed by Grace Goloiki and also ah Ben Petrie was one of the writers.
00:03:27
Jo
Stars, Lea Doze, Grace Goloiki, and Loen Moreau. So that's what we have out. It's an hour and 35 minutes. They do list it as a body horror and comedy with more with like romance and stuff like that, right?
00:03:41
Jo
So we just say it's romantic though. Oh,
00:03:45
Charlotte Noon
Oh, there is a love story. There is a love story.
00:03:46
Jo
yeah.
00:03:46
Charlotte Noon
Yes, there's definitely, um
00:03:48
Jo
oh there is ah there's always a love story from a certain point of view right and the the weirdest like I'm not saying that the weirdest weirdest thing is I just seen Ben Petrie in a different love story like two two weeks ago so I don't know if it's just like doing these kind of like could be love stories romance related stories type thing right
00:03:50
Charlotte Noon
it it's,
00:04:17
Jo
And so this kind of follows in into genre. So I've never, I've not seen this. I've not seen this.
Interactive Viewing with Scratch and Sniff
00:04:22
Jo
When they gave you the card for Scratch or Sniff, did they tell you what number? Like, shout out, eight.
00:04:30
Jo
Sniff eight.
00:04:31
Charlotte Noon
No, no, there was like a little advert came up at the start about how to use your scratch and sniff card and um numbers appeared on the screen that related to the smell that you're supposed to scratch and sniff.
00:04:36
Jo
Oh, yeah. and Were you, was everyone just going,
00:04:46
Charlotte Noon
Yeah, yeah, it yeah.
00:04:47
Jo
Really? Okay, that's kind of cool.
00:04:48
Charlotte Noon
Yeah.
00:04:49
Jo
but I like that.
00:04:50
Charlotte Noon
um
00:04:50
Jo
That's brilliant. like i've seen I've seen one gimmick from The Long Walk with Stephen King where their launch for press was basically on a treadmill.
00:05:02
Jo
And you could only stay in the screening room if you kept up with the walkers on screen.
00:05:06
Charlotte Noon
Oh, okay, yeah, yeah.
00:05:08
Jo
If you went below, they they actually shot you. No, I mean, they they kicked you out of the room. what One of the two happened. One of the two happened. So there was no real pressure of like, you you must sniff this because...
00:05:21
Jo
the
00:05:23
Charlotte Noon
No, no, it was optional. They did say you didn't have to, and and apparently they're going to be giving these out on general release. So anyone who goes to see it in the theatre,
00:05:30
Jo
oh nice. ah I can't wait to get my own, to scratch it and sniff all day long. And Peach was doing Honey Bunch. That's the one I couldn't remember the name for. So you have this as a, is is' comedic you know, there's comedic moments in it, obviously. it's It's horror comedy, right? So there's comedic moments.
00:05:49
Jo
You've seen Shaun of the Dead.
00:05:51
Charlotte Noon
Yeah.
00:05:52
Jo
Yeah? Is this along the same vein of the comedy or is it a different type of comedy like Witless Infection, for example?
00:06:01
Charlotte Noon
It's hard to... not Not really, no. um If you said to me, you were sending me to see a made-for-TV play filmed in the nineteen sixty s That's what it was.
00:06:20
Charlotte Noon
It was kind of set up like a play.
00:06:21
Jo
Really?
Theatrical Presentation and Budget
00:06:23
Charlotte Noon
um
00:06:23
Jo
that's cool.
00:06:25
Charlotte Noon
i mean, the the the costumes look like they've taken them out their own wardrobes. ah
00:06:30
Jo
Yeah.
00:06:31
Charlotte Noon
um
00:06:31
Jo
No, that's actually from what I know about the movie. Like the budget was basically a credit card.
00:06:36
Charlotte Noon
Yeah, it it' yeah it was it was very theatrical makeup, very theatrical costumes.
00:06:40
Jo
Yeah.
00:06:41
Charlotte Noon
And I mean, there was only four actors in it.
00:06:44
Jo
Yeah.
00:06:44
Charlotte Noon
Um, and yeah, all of the, I mean, they, they did great use of the sort of fake Christmas trees and that kind of thing for the woods. and
00:06:55
Jo
yeah it's It's weird because I'm seeing a lot on IMDB, a lot of really high praise for like basically the the budget is almost non-existent and four actors carry the entire thing because they have to. And when you're saying it's like a play, so does it read like the, okay, the setting and the costuming looks like play, you know, the makeup is all there presented in a way. How how how is like the lighting, the sound? I mean, it looks like a movie though, right?
00:07:24
Charlotte Noon
No, it looks like a play that has been adapted for film.
00:07:28
Jo
Adapted for. Okay.
00:07:30
Charlotte Noon
I mean, that did there's this's like a graveyard and it's you can tell it's fake grass and polystyrene headstones and that kind of thing. it
00:07:39
Jo
I hate to ah tell you this right now.
00:07:41
Charlotte Noon
and
Film's Accolades and Execution
00:07:42
Jo
That was actually a real graveyard. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:07:44
Charlotte Noon
And no, it wasn't.
00:07:45
Charlotte Noon
ah i
00:07:47
Jo
Now is a real graveyard. And this is actually being at a South by Southwest Film Festival 2005 winner Neon Auteur Award. And then like Halifax Horror Fest Jury Award Best Feature. And the this SIDG, I can never say this one. SIDG, whatever. S-I-T-G-S. You fucking say it. ah Nominee.
00:08:07
Jo
Well, nominee. So, you know, two wins, one nomination. Technically the three nominations was two wins, but that's most fucking math, I guess. So i I like this. I have not seen, I'll tell you right now, I i have not seen this. I was really jealous. i was like, man, and and thank you guys very very much for sending us with tickets. it was very sweet. it was like, I thought it'd be too late. I'm like, oh my God. I asked you like the day before, right?
00:08:28
Jo
Hey, what are you doing tomorrow at like, I don't know, 6 p.m.
00:08:29
Charlotte Noon
Yeah.
00:08:32
Jo
or some shit? Question mark.
00:08:34
Charlotte Noon
Yeah. Yeah. 24 hours notice. Yeah.
00:08:35
Jo
Yeah, yeah. and and and thank And you're brilliant for doing it. Thank you for skipping your lunch break. I owe you lunch. To get in there. Now, When you are there and you you know go through the experience, you go you see the movie, and i'm I'm watching small little clips on the side, so I'm like, oh yeah, I get what you're saying now.
00:08:55
Jo
Do you leave going, man, I should have had lunch instead? Okay.
00:09:02
Charlotte Noon
No, no, I found it really funny and it was, I really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it.
00:09:10
Jo
Cool.
00:09:10
Charlotte Noon
I thought it was really funny. It's good.
00:09:12
Jo
Without spoilers, what parts kind of stood out for you? like Is it going to be any particular actor or scene? or but sping Without spoiling. Without spoiling.
00:09:20
Charlotte Noon
Um, uh,
00:09:24
Jo
Put you on a hot seat now.
00:09:25
Charlotte Noon
no, I, it just, cut it I mean, it was a complete story.
00:09:30
Jo
Yeah.
00:09:30
Charlotte Noon
um
00:09:31
Jo
Good.
00:09:32
Charlotte Noon
um i like I kind of liked the way it was it was done like a play.
00:09:38
Jo
Okay, so it's more of a unique... Is is it like a gimmick maybe?
00:09:40
Charlotte Noon
Yeah.
00:09:41
Jo
then Okay.
00:09:43
Charlotte Noon
Yeah. um But no, it it didn't... I mean,
00:09:51
Jo
I blew her mind.
00:09:51
Charlotte Noon
he was it was just fun. It was fun. it was different. And it it
00:09:55
Jo
was a romp.
00:09:56
Charlotte Noon
yeah
00:09:57
Jo
Okay, you go to the globe a lot.
Platform Suitability Debate
00:10:00
Jo
If you saw this in the globe, we'd be like, this is fucking good.
00:10:00
Charlotte Noon
yes
00:10:04
Jo
Like the the Globe Theater.
00:10:04
Charlotte Noon
It wouldn't be out of place in the globe.
00:10:07
Jo
It would not be out of place. I think that's high fucking praise right there. It would not be out of place in a Globe Theater. I can't wait to watch it. I'm i'm really jealous. I am. I am. I am. I am. Now, we no longer do ratings on the show because I...
00:10:18
Jo
the last show i we ever rated was like Cannibal Holocaust. I get it negative a million, I think, just because of they snuffed the animals. But if, isn't this is weird because most of our screeners come as screeners, like we're watching them on a fucking phone or a tablet or some shit.
00:10:35
Jo
And so like one the questions is, would you watch in the theater? Well, fuck, you just already watched it theater. How about this? I'm gonna flip the question slightly different. If you were to recommend this to me,
00:10:47
Jo
Should I watch it in the movie theater or should I just go like, I'm on Netflix and shit?
00:10:54
Charlotte Noon
No, I think in the theatre probably...
00:10:59
Jo
Bad, really?
00:10:59
Charlotte Noon
i don't i don't actually know. i don't actually know because I don't... I think it'd go well on TV.
00:11:07
Jo
Well, it would go well on TV.
00:11:07
Charlotte Noon
ah think you could watch it quite happily on TV.
00:11:09
Jo
Yeah.
00:11:09
Charlotte Noon
Possibly.
00:11:10
Jo
yeah
00:11:11
Charlotte Noon
um
00:11:12
Jo
But would i be disappointed if I went to the theater? Would I be like, man, i fucking just spent $12?
00:11:20
Charlotte Noon
Possibly.
00:11:22
Jo
Really? ah would possibly disappoint.
00:11:23
Charlotte Noon
Possibly.
00:11:24
Jo
Really?
00:11:25
Charlotte Noon
Possibly disappointed, yeah.
00:11:27
Jo
But you liked it, though.
00:11:27
Charlotte Noon
depends on Depends on your weirdo-meter. I mean, you know, i watch a lot of weird stuff and it's kind of well up there.
00:11:35
Jo
I watched Fried Berry.
00:11:38
Jo
you've never seen Fried Berry?
00:11:39
Charlotte Noon
I've never seen Fredberry.
00:11:40
Jo
For those you out there, if you watch Fry Berry, I'm guessing you can take Dead Lover. i'm just That's a guess. Just it just a guess. I actually watched it and I love Fry Berry, by the way. So if the weirdo meter... Okay, so if I'm into weird films... If I'm... This is my jam. Because this does sound like my jam. like you know I liked it. I think the poster is fantastic. It does a little Frankenstein-y poster. and um She's holding a finger and I just thought that was a sex toy, but it's just a finger right now.
00:12:08
Jo
And...
00:12:09
Charlotte Noon
No, that's her dead lover.
00:12:11
Jo
Yeah, dead lover.
00:12:13
Charlotte Noon
Yeah.
00:12:13
Jo
That is her dead lover.
00:12:15
Charlotte Noon
That's all that's left of her finger.
00:12:15
Jo
The finger. Oh, oh, well, that's her favorite part, though, which is nice. Or maybe it's not a favorite part. It's the only part left.
00:12:24
Charlotte Noon
Well, I don't think it's spoiling it to say that she she grows the finger.
00:12:30
Jo
Like this.
00:12:33
Charlotte Noon
Something like that, yeah.
00:12:35
Jo
Oh, no, no. OK, now I have to see it.
00:12:37
Charlotte Noon
she puts you she she She literally grows the finger.
00:12:41
Jo
right Then this brings me to a ah second question. Would
Suitability for Children and Viewer Suggestions
00:12:46
Jo
you... Okay, is this... Because I don't see any ratings. I don't i don't know what this is like rated PG or R or 13, 17, whatever it's going to be.
00:12:54
Jo
Is this a movie that you would take family members to? Assuming that they're into weird movies.
00:13:03
Charlotte Noon
Probably not. No.
00:13:05
Jo
Why?
00:13:06
Charlotte Noon
Um, I certainly wouldn't take children to it, not because of the horror element of it, but there is a certain sexual content to it.
00:13:13
Jo
Okay, so for sexual content, leave your kids at home. Leave them for complete...
00:13:18
Charlotte Noon
Yeah.
00:13:19
Jo
Hey, people, if you want a perfect date night movie, go see Dead Lover, but make sure you leave your small children alone with a stranger you paid $5 for.
00:13:30
Jo
Yeah?
00:13:31
Charlotte Noon
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:13:32
Jo
Is that fair? Okay. That's fair.
00:13:34
Charlotte Noon
Um,
00:13:36
Jo
Now, is
Inspiration and Opening Quote Discussion
00:13:37
Jo
this... I'm looking at the IMDB and and ah Grace is doing a Q&A. Is it fair to say that a bit of this could bit have been inspired by young young Frankenstein?
00:13:50
Charlotte Noon
Possibly.
00:13:51
Jo
Possibly.
00:13:52
Charlotte Noon
i mean, it opens with a quote from Mary Shelley, so.
00:13:55
Jo
Who's that?
00:13:57
Jo
He didn't marry Shelley. He married Gilda. Gene Wilder married Gilda.
00:14:02
Charlotte Noon
Yeah, I know. and i'm my young crime so Yes, yes, yes, yes.
00:14:03
Jo
You know, that she died. He he he married afterwards. where her new Was his new wife Shelley?
00:14:10
Jo
Uh-huh. I finally got the finger. For those who are listening at home, I finally broke Charlotte. She finally gave me the finger, which I will then grow. ah However, probably not the way they grew it. Now I'm kind of wondering how the fuck she just grew a finger to a body. i met My mind's gone somewhere deep and dark and whatever, but it's okay. It's okay.
00:14:31
Jo
So overall, a good experience. Yeah.
00:14:34
Charlotte Noon
Yeah.
00:14:34
Jo
Overall. Okay. Excellent.
00:14:35
Charlotte Noon
Yeah, it was, it was fun.
00:14:35
Jo
one So if, yeah, if they like...
00:14:37
Charlotte Noon
It was fun. It was weird. It was, it was quirky.
00:14:41
Jo
Fun, weird, and quirky. My three best characteristics, I think. My only characteristics, maybe they're not bad, not bad, not bad. So I will watch this.
00:14:51
Jo
You guys can watch it. What do you mean? Me? I'm going watch this probably when I beg for a screener. You're like, please have a screener. He sent people and they had fun. I want screener too. Why can't I have one? But if you want to watch it,
00:15:06
Jo
Well, if you want to go back, you can always go back. But here we go. It is going to be in UK and Irish theatrical release, March 20th. So by the time you hear this, it may or may not be out.
00:15:17
Jo
Who knows when you hear this, check your fucking calendar. March 20th. In the UK and Irish, everyone else, you got to wait, motherfucker.
Release Information and Viewing Encouragement
00:15:27
Jo
You got to wait.
00:15:29
Jo
And all screens will be presented. oh man. Hmm.
00:15:34
Jo
You know what? I might have to absolutely steal your Stinkovision card one day. I'm going to come by. going to scratch it off. I go, ooh, that is rotten asshole, isn't it?
00:15:47
Jo
Yes, that's number eight. Rotten asshole. number right It really is rotten asshole. Oh my God, I've made that one up. But March 20th, go watch the movie Dead Lover, an hour and 35.
00:15:52
Charlotte Noon
mean
00:15:59
Jo
If you're into good, weird, eccentric, ecent eccentric eclectic,
00:16:05
Jo
Down with movies like these. Sorry, Father Ted. Hold on. Weird. Eccentric. No. What did you say? It is eccentric, right?
00:16:14
Charlotte Noon
Eccentric, yeah.
00:16:15
Jo
Fuck me. Okay. Oh, I was thinking of the eccentric like the orbit, like Iridium. Eccentric orbits. Oh my God. That's a fucking satellite. that The cell phone, or actually, ah not even cell phones. That's fucking ah satellite phone.
00:16:31
Jo
John Bloom wrote that one. All right. So if you like weird, eccentric, and quirky, there you go. Right? Okay. Go check it out. Dead Lover. UK and Irish.
00:16:44
Jo
Theater. Go to the theater. Get your cards. Scratch and sniff it. Leave the kids at home for a stranger. It's all good.
Closing Remarks and Farewell
00:16:50
Jo
They'll probably be back. No. They'll probably there when you come back. The stranger will be, not your kids.
00:16:55
Jo
Whatever. all that and more March 20th. Check it out. On behalf of myself, and I want to say thank you again, Charlotte, our very special London correspondent. On behalf myself in Charlotte, we bid you good day.
00:17:07
Jo
Bye, y'all.