Death of Me

Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and set on a small Thailand island, Death of Me follows vacationing couple Christine (Maggie Q) and Neil (Luke Hemsworth) as they awaken bruised and bloodied and with no memory of the previous night – which subsequently sends them off on a quest to piece together what exactly happened. It’s a decent setup that’s employed to progressively tedious and downright unwatchable effect by Bousman, as the filmmaker, working from Ari Margolis, James Morley III, and David Tish’s screenplay, delivers a sluggish thriller that’s been suffused with a whole host of unpleasant, unappealing elements – with the arms-length atmosphere compounded by a growing emphasis on the protagonists’ often surreal exploits (ie it’s rarely clear exactly what’s actually happening and what’s just in Christine’s head). There’s little doubt, as well, that the central characters’ investigation into the aforementioned island’s mysterious past is just as tedious and tiresome as one might’ve feared, while the frenetic (and entirely interminable) climax ensures that Death of Me concludes on an almost impossibly atrocious note – which ultimately cements its place as an aggressively worthless endeavor that is, on top of everything else, devoid of compelling visuals (ie the whole thing just looks cheap).

1/2* out of ****