“Death of Me” is a solid horror film, although it also is a mystery and a thriller. Set on an island in exotic Thailand, the movie successfully creates tension and fear in paradise as a typhoon approaches. The plot is derivative, but well-executed.

Neil (Luke Hemsworth), a travel journalist, and his wife Christine (Maggie Q) are on a work/holiday on an unnamed island in Thailand. They both wake up bedraggled in their hotel room. Neither can remember how they ended up there after an evening out.

They are late for a ferry. In the cab, Christine discovers that she is wearing a necklace that Neil does not remember buying for her. When their cab driver takes a wrong route, their arguments and the language barrier cause him to kick the couple out of his vehicle.
They make their way on foot to the ferry, only to discover that their passports are missing. Without ID, they cannot proceed. They are told that another ferry will leave at 7pm.

Back in the hotel room, Neil checks his phone for pictures. He discovers that he recorded a 2 ½-hour video. They see themselves in a bar. The waitress serves them a drink called “Island Magic.” Christine is given a necklace as a gift, and subsequently becomes unsteady.

Neil fast-forwards the video. The couple are now in a location neither recognize. They proceed to have sex. Then Neil strangles Christine and snaps her neck. He digs a grave and inters her body.

In the present, Christine now realizes that she has red marks on her neck, which seem to confirm the story, even though she is alive, not dead She locks herself in the bathroom to protect herself from Neil. Taking off the necklace, she becomes ill and vomits dirt and grass.

Neil breaks into the bathroom, which causes the hotel owner Samantha (Alex Essoe) and her daughter Nathida (Caledonia Burr) to burst in. Samantha thinks that Christine should see a doctor.

At the medical office, the doctor, who speaks very little English, does his exam. When told that they drank some unknown liquor at the bar, the nurse gives the name of the drink in Thai and spells it for Neil. He discovers via his phone that it is a “hard core Buddhist” drink that can lead to hallucinations and even death.

Christina and Neil next go to a beachside café. A group of festival-goers starts parading by, and Neil goes to photograph them. One float has a large drawing of Christina on it!
Christina meanwhile takes off her necklace, becomes sick and heads to a restroom. There she proceeds to vomit a thick thread or string. She hallucinates a scene where corpse-like people with sewn-up eyes and mouths restrain her, draw her blood and inject it into her eye. When Neil finds her, she has the necklace back on and has a bloody arm.

Even creepier is the way islanders approach her, give her gifts, hug her, and thank her. Things will get worse for Neil and Christine, though.

The plot reminded me of other films set in remote locations where visitors are preyed upon. At one point, Neil makes a reference to “The Wicker Man.” Nonetheless, the film’s excellent production values and acting enhance a unique variation on this theme that makes “Death by Me” stand on its own.

The director, Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, III, IV), notes that he is fascinated by belief and what people will do to fulfill these beliefs. The movie does a good job of providing evidence for the belief system but wavers with inconsistencies on the issue of free will and voluntary sacrifice.

The levels of tension and confusion leading to fear are well-constructed. The film never lets up and gives enough surprises throughout its course to keep the viewer’s interest. Vomiting strange objects, scenes of people committing self-harm with the attendant gore, and ghoul-like specters are used to good effect. A scene where children have black electrical tape over their eyes and mouths is particularly unsettling.

Are Christine’s hallucinations just that or are they recollections of something that truly happened? With the use of gray-scale and a pounding score, these episodes are distinguished clearly, although their ultimate reality remains mysterious. Indeed, as Christine is human, if these are memories, how much has she accurately recalled?

The settings in Thailand are truly gorgeous, with lush greenery and the movement of the ocean. The cinematography is superb in the daylight sequences, but in the low-light dark left something to be desired. The hallucination scenes also merit praise.

The score by Mark Sayfritz is first-rate. The music is spooky, haunting and fo
reboding, although sometimes it is a bit overpowering.

Luke Hemsworth and Maggie Q have excellent chemistry together. Even their arguments add credibility to their being a married couple. Both are skilled actors. Maggie Q is given more to do as the lead, and she convincingly portrays the fear, confusion, terror and will to live of her character.

Alex Essoe as Samantha also was effective. She seems at first to be quite normal but as time passes, we find out who she really is and what her goals are.

Another unexpected character was the typhoon. It exists as an existential threat to the island, despite the fact that the islanders claim that no typhoon has struck the island in 200 years.

The film is rated “R”, and rightly so. The sex scene where Christine is murdered is too much for children. The gore, although sparse, is inappropriate for younger audiences as well.

I wish that the screenwriters had spent a little more time on creating a solid mythology for the islanders’ beliefs. It would have added much to the film’s believability. The lesson to be drawn from movies of this type is to never go to remote places as the sole tourists. If you liked “Midsommar” and “The Wicker Man,” then this picture is right up your alley.

Three and a half out of 5 stars

Vacationing on an island off the coast of Thailand, Christine (Maggie Q) and Neil Oliver (Luke Hemsworth) awake hungover and with no memory of the previous night. They find footage on Neil’s camera, and watch, horrified, as Neil appears to murder Christine. With twenty-four hours until the next ferry and a typhoon threatening the island, Christine and Neil attempt to reconstruct the night’s events—and are snared in a web of mystery, black magic, and murder.

Starring: Maggie Q, Luke Hemsworth, Alex Essoe
Directed By: Darren Lynn Bousman
Written By: Ari Margolis, James Morley III, David Tish

DIRECTORS STATEMENT:

I have always been fascinated in belief. What people believe in, why they believe in it, and the links they will go to for things they believe in.

I myself have a series of beliefs that people halfway across the world would consider insane, dangerous, or asinine

If you go back through and look at my library and my films you will find this concept weaved into the last night of 10 years of my life, and work

Death of Me’s entire DNA is rooted In faith. The undying faith an island has for its well being, prosperity and survival.

Upon reading the script it tickled all of parts of my mind that excited me. And more, it was thrilling and macabre… oh so Macabre.

After meeting with the films producers and discussing our favorite horror films it became obvious this was a film and opportunity I could not pass up. Not only was it a chance to film something in one of the most beautiful and unique locations I have ever set foot in, but get to work with some of the most fantastic and diverse group of actors and artists I have ever met.

Death of Me is a special film. From the gorgeous cinematography from José David Montero to the chilling score from madman Mark Sayfritz.

I am excited for world to understand and know the secrets our films island holds for its inhabitants.