DMovies - Your platform for thought-provoking cinema
Everyone has a skeleton or two in their closet; some people even have a corpse. So why not get them out and talk to them? British filmmaker does just that in this deliciously repulsive celebration of insanity

Frankly speaking, we all go a little crazy sometimes. Who doesn’t have one or two decomposing corpses in their flat, with whom you debate your fears and desires, and who can cheer you when you feel sad and lonely? They are far more loyal and reliable than living humans. Clearly, that’s something we all do, and Frank – the protagonist of the eponymous movie – is of course no exception to this rule.

Frank is a lonesome and disturbed young adult, played by Darren Beaumont, who lives in a small flat in a grey coastal town somewhere in Britain. He suffers from OCD, which sees him tiptoe down the street, and step home in a highly ritualistic geometric fashion. He has virtually no contact with the living, except for the occasional visit from his elderly mother and – to his despair – his intrusive child neighbour who often confronts him about his unusual habits.

Tidiness and cleanliness are not Frank’s forte. The flat is dirty and derelict. He preserves vegetables (or are they perhaps body parts?) in large jars as well as in his bath tube, and snails are also a constant presence. His decomposing corpse friends are not particularly good with personal hygiene either. He has a habit of gradually cutting Fidel (Con O’Neill) open, removing his organs and stuffing him. He looks a lot like Twiggy Ramirez from Marilyn Manson with the scales and make-up on his face.

Lucky for Fidel, the corpse of the suicidal bridal Polly (Con O’Neill) washes up on shore, and Frank promptly invites her to live with them. The two dead people quickly become very intimate and develop a sexual connection. Frank is once again an outcast, even amongst his faithful and departed friends.

Despite stuffing and talking to corpses, Frank is not Hitchcock’s Norman Bates. He’s not evil and manipulative. In fact he’s very weak and fragile; he often walks around town in his underwear, a strange reminder of his vulnerability. He’s also naive, clumsy and yet highly likable. He epitomises the little bit of eccentricity and insanity that we all have inside us.

Film director Richard Heslop toys with death, decomposition and snails in a way not dissimilar to Peter Greenaway’s Zoo: A Zed and Two Noughts (1985), just much more lighthearted. Frank is an elegantly dirty and repulsive ode to lunacy, with an outstanding cinematography (the film is technically immaculate) and riveting acting. You’d be mad to miss it!

You can watch the entire movie Frank online and for free here:


By Victor Fraga - 14-07-2016

Victor Fraga is a Brazilian born and London-based journalist and filmmaker with more than 20 years of involvement in the cinema industry and beyond. He is an LGBT writer, and describes himself as a di...

DMovies Poll

Are the Oscars dirty enough for DMovies?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Most Read

Just a few years back, finding a film [Read More...]
Sexual diversity is at the very heart of [Read More...]
Forget Friday the 13th, Paranormal Activity and the [Read More...]
A lot of British people would rather forget [Read More...]
Pigs might fly. And so Brexit might happen. [Read More...]
QUICK AND DIRTY: LIVE FROM TALLINN A candidate’s [Read More...]

Read More

Our dirty questions to Christopher Greenslate

 

Victoria Luxford - 15-10-2024

The director of Bananahead, a horror-drama about an actor with a troubling legacy, gets [Read More...]

Last Swim

Sasha Nathwani
2024

Ibrahim Azam - 11-10-2024

In his feature-length debut, Sasha Nathwani brings us a poignant and reflective coming-of-age tale set against the hectic backdrop of central London - from the 68th BFI London Film Festival [Read More...]

Nickel Boys

RaMell Ross
2024

Daniel Theophanous - 10-10-2024

Two African Americans sent to a brutal juvenile institution see their dreams and aspirations destroyed, in this hypnotic yet uneven drama - from the 68th BFI London Film Festival [Read More...]