The Dead Thing (2025) review – Arthouse romance masquerading as horror

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are taking a look at the “erotic horror” movie The Dead Thing. This movie released in 2024 but didn’t hit Shudder until the 14th of February 2025.

This One is Sooo Sloooow

The Dead Thing follows the story of a young office worker (Blu Hunt) who finds herself stuck in a repetitive loop of working night shifts and hooking up with men online for one-night stands. After finally meeting the man of her dreams, it becomes clear that all may not be as it seems. The mysterious guy appears to be hiding a dark secret.

The Dead Thing is pretty formulaic; at least as far as horror stories go, anyway. The whole “person with a dark past” thing has been done to death. A spin is placed on the trope that does afford the movie something of a unique outlook. But, without spoiling anything, it’s nothing all that new to horror fans. It’s certainly nothing that stands out as being particularly remarkable.

Suffice to say, this aspect of the movie is the only thing that allows this film to dip a pinky toe into the horror side of the erotic drama paddling pool. Other than that, this is a monotonous romantic drama through and through. And a bloody slow-moving one, at that. There is very little going on here of any note. Girl goes out on dates, goes to work, meets stranger, falls in love, love is complicated, a few horror things happen, rinse and repeat.

Monotonous and repetitive

The Dead Thing is extremely dreary and very humdrum. This cycle of repeated days gets old fast. It’s presented as an almost dreamlike haze of loosely connected events. Each purely designed to illustrate the character’s dull life. All while emphasising her desire for a real connection. As well as a reason to view the world as anything other than pointless.

“There’s a strong section of people who like to sniff their own farts and enjoy movies like this in a way that can best be described as self-gratifying. But does it make for an entertaining watch? Rarely.”

I love slow-moving horror movies, but the problem here is that it just isn’t that interesting. The character isn’t strong enough to care for or relate to. The world she exists in is one of her own making, and it’s impossible not to feel like the message is surface deep, at best—as shallow as the hook-ups she engages in every night.

You quickly find yourself begging for something to happen… anything, in fact. When things start to pick up a little, they drop off almost instantly and return to the same trudging pace. There is an almost arthouse approach to The Dead Thing. Lots of watching the scenery, lots of pointless preamble, and lots of staring off into the distance, but very little of actual substance. I get it; this is all by design. But I can never shake the feeling, with films like this, that the director isn’t trying to make a movie.

They are trying to create a picture with little regard for whether, or not, the viewer will actually enjoy it. Sure, there are plenty of people who do like this type of thing. There’s also a strong section of people who like to sniff their own farts and enjoy movies like this in a way that can best be described as self-gratifying. But does it make for an entertaining watch? Rarely.

It has a few good ideas

The narrative is quite layered, here, and, with a lot of digging, it can offer up a few things to think about. There are some fairly interesting ideas relating to how a person’s worldview can change based on interpersonal relationships, along with a pretty strong message regarding how important it is to move on from the past, lest it ruin your future, too.

“It all proves to be more of a strained sigh rather than a loud, effusive, erotic horror movie moan.”

The reality is, however, is it really worth bothering? There was little here that provoked any sense of wonder in me or a desire to know more. It all feels pretty vapid and surface deep, like the innermost thoughts of an edgy teen who thinks that the world just doesn’t understand them.

Completely devoid of scares and extremely undaring in its portrayal of violence and the terrifying reality of one of its main characters, The Dead Thing‘s horror elements are unsatisfying, and the romance elements are just the same, old, unimaginative shit that has been doing the rounds for years in edgy indie movies. The Dead Thing never manages to lift itself above its own base level.

It’s hard to avoid feeling disappointed at just how low the movie’s peaks are. I think I could forgive it more if it was simply an indie romance film. The fact that the focus is on a poorly thought-out, and not all that interesting, horror side-plot is rather frustrating and unnecessary. It all proves to be more of a strained sigh rather than a loud, effusive, erotic horror movie moan.

Critics seem to love it but viewers hate it

The Dead Thing has proved to be one of those movies that has divided viewers and critics. I am seeing this film being panned by a lot of regular people and really liked by the reviewing community. It currently sits at an 83% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes with only a 4.7/10 user score on IMDb.

This is another example illustrating the difference between how viewers and critics approach the movie-going experience. At the end of the day, most viewers just want to be entertained, and this movie isn’t very entertaining.

This is another example illustrating the difference between how viewers and critics approach the movie-going experience.

On the plus side, The Dead Thing is a nice-looking movie. Shots were beautifully set up and there is, almost, a 35mm style grain to everything that makes the picture look extremely traditional and higher budget than it likely is. The 1.85:1 aspect ratio only adds to that and is a great choice for the very character-focused shot style.

Blu Hunt is very capable and does a great job. She adds a lot of quirks and tics to her physical performance that makes her feel so much more natural than a lot of actors. Sex scenes were fairly minimal for this type of movie, which is good for people who hate that stuff. It’s a bit of a downer for viewers who actively want carnality from their erotic horror, though. Nudity is minimal, if that’s something that concerns you. It’s mostly confined to boob shots and little else. Violence is, also, very minimal.

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Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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