Dating Death is certainly a throwback to the early days of slasher who-done-its. It has that relentless attack on a viewers' senses that early 80's classics like April Fool's Day and Return To Horror High treat us to. People are dying left & right, nobody can get a grip on what's happening to them and yet the fact remains that there's a killer among them! Sensibilities are discarded and rational judgment is throw out the window. In Dating Death, people are thrown out the window with after it.
A group of long-time friends are partying together and someone has the clever idea of playing Truth or Dare. Immediately, someone shouts "truth" and volunteers another to answer the question "Who do you admire?" (As the English translation is a little sketchy, I assume a more literal translation is a playful and coy, 'Who do you have a crush on?') Around the room they go and each of the five guys choose Sophie, a wealthy girl whom everyone of the group trips over themselves in a vain attempt to get her to "notice" them. This doesn't sit well with Lily, Sophie's friend, because one of the five is her secret lover Ken. Ken reluctantly, out of respect, proclaims that he adores Sophie as well, but only after Sophie had called Ken's name earlier in the game. This really rubs Lily the wrong way and she storms off. The other four guys who are gunning for the affections of Sophie don't take this well either (for some odd reason). Later, the guys head downstairs to shoot pool and one of them disappears...and the game begins.
** spoilers **
In the morning the group waits in the lobby to catch the boat back home from the island resort, but one of the group, namely Ken, is still missing. A quick search of the hotel yields nothing and they head to Ken's room but are shocked to find a river of blood leading from the window to the bed and a severed hand at the foot of the bed. No sign of Ken anywhere. A year later, the group reunites at a dinner party hosted by Sophie at a posh restaurant, but competition for Sophie's attention hasn't subsided in the least. The guys spend the entire dinner shouting at each other and posturing. As the dinner ends and the friend's disperse, each of them find a mysterious invitation slipped in their pockets and purses calling them back to the island resort. And of course, they go.
The group arrive at the resort, the boat leaves and there's no way off the resort island until their boat is scheduled return days later (how convenient!), they curiously head to Ken's room and find a black hand print on the ceiling. Sophie's uncle, the caretaker, has tried to remove it with dozens of methods but to no avail. The group is left wondering who left the mysterious palm print, and soon suspicions of one another resurface and of the whereabouts of Ken.
** end spoilers **
One by one they received an invitation, one by one they stepped off the boat, one by one they they entered the building and one by one they'll die.
The simple, calculated premise of Dating Death is what makes this movie work. It's the classic 'Don't go in there!' or 'Don't open that door!' that draws us into the film. As if we're put in the position of participants in the film. Quite refreshing if you ask me. Dating Death has the elements of the classic blood & guts slasher and the suspense of even earlier classic films like 'And Then There Were None' from which it borrows the formula, I'm sure. Each disappearance more disturbing than the last, each more tense and suspicious than the last, and when you've got it figured out, you'll be wrong. Dating Death hold out until the very end. Other than a cheesy farewell sequence, it's a totally engrossing and more importantly, fun movie as far as slashers go.
Sure it's low budget, formulaic (to a point) and a tad campy. But for crying out loud, it is called Dating Death! If it sound like I'm defending it, it's because I am. Not many seem to get this movie and feel the need to hold it to unreasonably high standards or take it much too seriously. That's my humble opinion. The only bug I have with it is the DVD's subtitles. The English subtitles, to be specific, on the Mandarin Films release. They get the the point across well enough, but the studio might benefit from a better translator or simply to clarify the dialogue. In the end though, it's a horribly good movie.
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