Dead Heart in a Dead World

Warning: This review contains some spoilers. In addition, it is terribly old, and, despite some small tweaks, is a little bit rubbish.

Having recently reviewed Gnomes, I can find one major similarity between that and Dead Heart in a Dead World--the well thought-out use of colour. Gnomes set the right atmosphere with mostly dark colours, and Dead Heart in a Dead World does something very similar. Keeping the film in greyscale, you can immediately tell that the place is abandoned and desolate. And as the dangerous creature prowls around at such a quick speed, you know why the place is dead. The music played was well chosen too; when the robotic-like person slowly walks around the barren area, we get a very chilling feeling that the creature is in charge of this lifeless ‘dead world’, and that it could pounce at any time. The dark tones and the touching music all contribute to this, and if you want a movie that shows how moods should be set, this is for you. Atmospherically, this is a winner, as throughout the whole movie, the dead mood can be felt.

Naturally, the armoured person and the four-legged creature come face-to-face, and at this point in the movie, different interpretations and opinions about Dead Heart in a Dead World can form. Fortunately, I had not seen any explanations at all prior to watching this, so I watched it with an open mind. I recommend you do the same now, if you have not done so, and close this review. Personally, I thought that the relatively fast-paced fight deliberately contradicted the lifeless world, and consequently the place felt temporarily livened up. Instead of the cold, dark feeling the place has, there was hope that it can still be revived, and the short battle breathed life. The hand made character was created and animated nicely, and it is mostly this ‘thing’ that makes the battle lively. This is fairly ironic, considering that it is this ‘thing’ that has made the ‘dead world’.

In addition, there is another character, who only plays a small part. No matter how minor or unimportant he is compared to the other two though, it is clear that he adds further depth and tension to the movie. Every time he says anything, an ominous feeling surrounds you, as you think ‘where is that creature?’ which adds extra suspense. The character not only adds to the cold atmosphere, but also gives extra information about the two main characters. The only problem I had with him was that, at one point, his voice was drowned by the music. As the final few frames were shown, I felt that this movie was perhaps not quite as sufficiently wrapped up as I had expected it to. It came to a rather sudden end. With an intriguing name, Dead Heart in a Dead World is a great short drama. This is perhaps not Andres' best work, but you can definitely see he knows how to create the right atmosphere. Good music selections and an interestingly chosen dull colour scheme all add to the mood of the barren world, and right until the end, you won't be able to move out of your chair. Look around you after Dead Heart in a Dead World has finished running, and you will be grateful that there is colour in your life.

Score: 86/100

[Andres]

I can't believe you liked the pretentious art-faggotry of a dumbass 14 year old obsessed with shitty metal bands.

[Adam Clough]

It's not exactly pretencious when you diss your own movie.