The Dark Days of Demetrius
USA 2019
produced by Dakota Ray, S. Donatello (= Sebastian Oake) for R.A. Productions
directed by Dakota Ray
starring Dakota Ray, Fred Epstein, Lilith Frost, S. Donatello (= Sebastian Oake)
written by Dakota Ray, music by OroborO, Kevin MacLeod, songs by Emperor ov Larvae, Chair Hurlante, Matière Noire, Reunion, Traversée des Ames, special effects by Dakota Ray, Sebastian Oake
review by Mike Haberfelner
|
Demetrius (Dakota Ray) is a psycho killer whose murders make him feel
godlike and who has a thing for always showing his face to his victims the
last thing before they die. He also usually live-streams his killings,
upon which media dubs him the Live Stream Killer.
Clive (Fred Epstein) is a down-on-his-luck reporter who's desparate for
good (in his case violent and sensationalistic) stories, and when
nothing's out there he fabricates stories on his own, like killing a dog
or burning a homeless person, just for the headline's sake.
Eventually, Demetrius asks Clive to interview him for added publicity,
but insists that his answers won't be tampered with - which Clive agrees
to, but later sees it as a good opportunity to load off his own murders
onto someone else. For him, Demetrius is just one among many, and soon he
has found himself another serial killer to feature, Baphomet (Sebastian
Oake), but Demetrius isn't one to let such things slip quite as casually,
and thus plans his revenge ...
The world of filmmaker Dakota Ray has always been a dark one, and The
Dark Days of Demetrius is no expection, it being about three
indivituals trying to outdo one another in vileness - and while the film
may lack any relatable protagonist and might be too nihilistic for some,
it does actually work as social commentary on the sensationalism of
today's (social) media with the consequential corrosion of morals. And
somehow the highly stylized, almost artificial look of the film that
intentionally uses only certain sections of the colour scale and
overexposure as parts of its cinematic language really helps to bring the
point across.
That said, it's true what's true for all of Dakota Ray's movies, it's
not for the squeamish, and it's made for maximal shock value, but if
you're into this, you'll in all probability get enjoyment out of this.
|