The Funeral (2024) by Orcum Behram

Director: Orcum Behram

Year: 2024

Country: Turkey

Alternate Titles: Cenaze

Genre: Zombie

Plot:

Working as a hearse driver, a lonely man is entrusted with taking care of a special body for a month until he can return her to her parents, but after realizing that his supposedly-dead charge is still alive he forms a bond with her that brings him into a dangerous trail to appease her.

Review:

This was a wholly disappointing and unconventional effort without much going for it. The main problem here is the preponderance of plodding arthouse aesthetics in place of more traditional faster-paced material. The cryptic nature of the central relationship here where it’s not entirely clear how the romance between them starts considering her condition and how extraordinary it is compared to the amount of time we’ve spent following him around until that point, there’s little in the way of making it come together at all logically as it has more of a father/daughter angle than anything else based on how he treats and protects her. This is matched with excessively long and meandering scenes of him wandering through the city trying to find out how to help her or trying to deal with the escalating danger his actions have caused. This favoring of these factors even with their excellent usage throughout as the gorgeous imagery and deep-seated commentary on the life of the conservative mindset in the country does create far more of a highly impressive mainstream genre effort.

That does mean there are some intriguing elements present here where this one focuses on the savage nature of her condition making their relationship far more difficult to sustain. Featuring numerous moments of them being subjected to random strangers that are turned into victims to provide the blood she needs to survive, these scenes add a touching depth and gravitas to what's essentially a series of gruesome vampiric feedings with the way they're portrayed throughout here. Going through the finale is a big part of this with the confrontations taking place in the mountainous region of the area that has a lot more of an impact due to the frenzy of activity present. However, its just too slow and artistic for its own good. This could've been trimmed down considerably or gone about its motions at a faster tempo to help out considerably as that's what really holds this back.

Overview: **.5/5

A unique and somewhat bizarre genre effort, this one incorporates some unconventional aspects into a story that might not always work but still has plenty to like about it. Those who are intrigued by this type of storyline or prefer the more artistic side of the genre will have the most to like here while those who prefer the more traditional zombie fare will want to heed caution with this one.

The Funeral is now streaming exclusively on Screambox.