Death Becomes Her
1992 · Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Original language: English
- comedy
- fantasy
- horror
The story
Madeline is married to Ernest, who was once her arch-rival Helen's fiancé. After recovering from a mental breakdown, Helen vows to kill Madeline and steal back Ernest. Unfortunately for everyone, the introduction of a magic potion causes things to be a great deal more complicated than a mere murder plot.
What it’s like
Glossy 1990s studio polish gives way to garish, theatrical color here: bright Art Deco mansions, candy-pastel bathrooms, and Halloween-bright set dressing that looks like a stage flat painted for a dark joke. Special effects carry much of the texture, with unsettling, gleefully grotesque body work rendered in practical makeup and early digital tricks that feel slightly uncanny, like a fairy tale gone slightly rotten. The score is brassy and playful, with bouncy swing and lush orchestral stings that undercut each wound and reversal. The vibe is campy, sardonic and vain, a black comedy about aging and rivalry that plays its horror for laughs. Pacing is brisk and cutting, with sharp, stagey exchanges that snap between two women pursuing the same man and the same eternal youth, each escalation outdoing the last. Violence is frequent and cartoonish, with slapstick gore, decaying bodies and comic mutilation, but it stays light and never truly frightening. It suits a Halloween party, a giggly night in, or a comfort rewatch with friends who enjoy wicked, self-aware cruelty. It is for viewers who relish vanity satirised with dark wit.
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