KILL YOUR LOVER (2023)

New On Demand from Dark Sky Films!
Directed/Written by Alix Austin, Keir Siewert.
Starring Paige Gilmour, Shane Quigley-Murphy, May Kelly, Joshua Whincup, Chloe Wigmore
Check out the trailer here!!

Rock band leader Dakota (played by Paige Gilmore) wants to get out of her relationship with chemist Axel (played by Shane Quigley Murphy). What was once fascinating and different for Dakota about the relationship with Axel is now stifling, boring and annoying. But just as Dakota is preparing to leave him, Axel comes home from the lab with a strange virus. As the virus courses through Axel’s body, Dakota calls the paramedics, but not before showing signs of the virus herself.

KILL YOUR LOVER maps out a wonderfully toxic relationship even before the virus is introduced. While Axel has his flaws of being controlling and serious about his future with Dakota, Dakota seems to want that type of control and stability at first with the relationship. But as time goes on, Dakota yearns for yesteryear and refuses to pursue something mature in her life. This creates a believable rift between two people who are basically good natured, but are simply ill suited for one another. I liked how this film doesn’t take the easy way out and make one of these characters utterly reprehensible, instead choosing to develop two characters that are much more believable and relatable.

Actors Paige Gilmour and Shane Quigley-Murphy do a wonderful job of fleshing out these two tragic characters. Again, they make the relationship human instead of romanticized and try not to act like conventionally good and bad people. In doing so, you alternate liking and loathing these characters as the movie goes on.

KILL YOUR LOVER is quite gory. The virus is sticky and gross, growing from the body as thick, black veins not unlike the symbiote creature from the VENOM films. The film does a good job of highlighting the horror of some kind of invasive malignancy slowly taking over a body like cancer. But this infection is the metaphor for the toxic relationship here and it doesn’t hold back in driving that point home as both become vicious and brutal to one another for one last battle.

What also impressed me was the fact that mostly everything in the film takes place in one small apartment between these two unfit lovers over the span of one afternoon. Sure, there are all kinds of flashbacks revealing crucial details, but for the most part this is a small film made to look much bigger from the big performances and strong effects.

KILL YOUR LOVER is an uncomfortable watch. Not only because of the gross out body horror effects, but because it may be too on-the-nose for those of you in not so good relationships. If that’s the case, get out now before it’s too late. Still KILL YOUR LOVER is good at pointing out the bad in human behavior.