Overlook Film Festival 2024 – With recent films like Hole in the Ground, Boys from County Hell, Mandrake, and The Cellar, it’s fair to say there’s a new wave of Irish horror happening. All You Need Is Death, written and directed by Paul Duane, is the latest bit of terror to emerge from the Emerald Isle. This one is a blend of cosmic frights and folk horror that drips with dread.

The film stars Simone Collins as Anna and Charlie Maher as Aleks. Their characters are a couple who collect rare Irish folk ballots and then sell them for profit. This makes for an especially fascinating first 20 minutes, as they visit one person after the other and learn various new ballots, many of which contain Irish history and/or folklore. Alkes and Anna’s little side hustle puts them in touch with the rather serious Agnes (Catherine Siggins). She tasks the couple with tracking down a reclusive woman named Rita Concannon (Olwen Fouéré), who possesses knowledge of a mysterious and ancient song, older than anything the couple has encountered thus far.

The moment the couple encounters Rita is utterly captivating, and this is thanks, in large part, to Fouéré’s absolutely stunning and commanding performance, especially once she starts singing. It’s the film’s most memorable sequence, even more so than the chilling cosmic horror scenes that come much later. The song Rita sings spins a tale involving a princess, a betrayal, and the grisly aftermath. The tune contains a serious evil, and the ballot is passed down from woman to woman, the language unrecognizable to most. Unfortunately for Anna, she’s the next to inherit it, and there are rules. Because this is a horror movie, those rules are broken. This is when the film gets really weird.

While All You Need Is Death is certainly a slow-burn that really takes its time building its atmosphere and establishing the history behind the song Rita passes down, cosmic horror is eventually unleashed. There are some strange and nightmarish sequences in this one, especially by the second half. The threat the song possesses eventually becomes realized. The closing sequence is especially powerful and quite macabre.

While the film really doesn’t have that many flaws, there are times where some of the lore becomes a little difficult to follow, as well as the consequences of sharing the song. This is certainly a film that may warrant a rewatch, but that’s also not a bad thing. Meanwhile, as good as the cosmic horror scenes are, a few more would have elevated this film. As a whole, they feel a bit too scarce. We’re talking about end of the world stuff here, after all, an ancient, life-threatening entity.

All You Need Is Death is an unnerving 90 minutes with some truly hair-raising sequences and strong performances all around. This is the latest in an impressive crop of contemporary Irish horror films.

7 out of 10