Play Dead!

Play Dead! (2023)

08/10/2023
Documentary
1h 20m

Overview

If there is one person Matthew Lancit can’t get out of his mind, it is his uncle Harvey. Dark rings around his eyes, pale, blind, his legs amputated. Like Harvey, the filmmaker also suffers from diabetes. He has the disease under control, but one question is always nagging at him: How much longer? His long-term (self-)observation reliably revolves around fears of infirmity and mutilation. He translates the feared body horror into film, stages himself as a zombie, vampire, a desolate figure. Lancit playfully anticipates his potential decline, serving up a whole arsenal of effects which – as video recordings prove – go back to his youth. It is not for nothing that the “dead” in the title is also reminiscent of “dad.” Because “Play Dead!” also negotiates his own role as a father.

  • Matthew LancitDirector
  • Original Title

    Fais le mort !

  • Status

    Released

  • Original Language

    French

Keywords

  • gore
  • diabetic
  • roleplay
  • health documentary
  • beating heart
  • video diary
  • self-portrait
  • documentary
  • body horror
  • blood
  • special effects makeup
  • family roleplay