A descent into Hell is triggered when "Ex-Lord" Donald Brocklebank finds that he must leave Longleigh House for London to find a way to pay for the medical treatments for his wife Nancy. Alone, his over-protected, delusional, adult son, James, fancies himself in charge of the manor house with his terminally ill mother, and barricades the two of them into the house.
A striking study of madness that skirts horror territory.
– Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
23 Jun 2007
rotten:
This is great filmmaking in the sense that overplayed virtuoso guitar shredding is great music -- which is to say, not at all.
– Nick Pinkerton,
Village Voice,
23 Oct 2007
fresh:
A bizarre psychological study of degeneration and dependency, The Living and the Dead is a horror movie only in the most literal sense.
– Jeannette Catsoulis,
New York Times,
24 Oct 2007
fresh:
This is a truly haunted movie.
– Joshua Rothkopf,
Time Out New York,
25 Oct 2007
fresh:
The Living and the Dead is not an easy movie to sit through, and its darkness may be a little mannered, but it's an elegant construction with real emotions buried deep inside.