Slamdance 2022 Film Festival – Clay (Clay Tatum) and Whitney (Whitney Weir) are a delightfully typical hipster LA couple. She works (seemingly) in “the industry” and he’s a floundering freelance photographer. He assumes a new haircut will somehow save his brand and business, and proceeds to give himself an at-home glorified bowl cut/shag/Beatles hybrid-from-hell… literally the opposite of anything appealing. Whitney confirms this was a terrible choice, but leaves him to wallow in his haircut hellhole on his own as she goes out of town for work.

Small problem though…Clay realizes he’s short on rent. So he does what any struggling freelancer would d0 — and decides to try a get-rich-quick scheme involving scamming desperate Angelenos out of rental application fees. I mean, that’s what you do when you’re short on rent… right? As his hustle carries on, he runs into an old friend, Whit (Whitmer Thomas), a successful actor – or, that’s what he makes it sound like. But how can you be successful when you’re dead?

The Civil Dead is a blackest-black comedy drumming up all the feels of a struggling Angeleno. As Clay is haunted by Whit, Whit realizes he’s haunted by his past, his lies, and his mistakes. A deep dive into the pathos of the Los Angeles film and freelance machine, The Civil Dead speaks to those of us riding that struggle bus (hello, LA Metro…) with Clay and Whit. However, the humor is accessible to anyone who has been a twenty-something struggle bus rider themselves.

The Civil Dead is full of what I call “good ugly.” From Clay’s atrocious haircut, to the mostly bleak landscape of Los Angeles – the city itself seems to be a character in the film. Semi-Wes-Andersonesque art design helps bring the quirkiness to the forefront, amping up those hipster vibes – and piling on the twee (whatever that means). I’m surprised the score doesn’t have more sad girl ukulele songs (though it does have a magnificent indie folk score).  Everyone in this film is deliciously…well…average. Normal looking. Not Hollywood royalty. Good ugly. It takes some major cojones to be so wonderfully stylistically compromised, right from the start, with this haircut – which is never fixed. Absolutely delightful.

The darker edges of The Civil Dead somehow counteract, but add to, the humor and fun. Whit’s fate is not one to be taken lightly, and honestly being a ghost doesn’t sound that fun. Whit can’t eat, drink, sleep, open doors — he has no corporeal form, so how could he turn the handle? His stages of grief are palpable, and Clay provides a stalwart straight man to all of it.

The Civil Dead is absolutely worth the watch – especially for those of the Los Angeles persuasion, or anyone who has ever had a bad haircut.

9 Out of 10