Art of the Dead is a 2019 American horror written and directed by Rolfe Kanefsky.
When Dylan Wilson purchases a collection of seven paintings to hang in his wealthy estate, he has no idea what horrors he has unleashed for himself, his wife, Gina, his college son, Louis, his teenage daughter, Donna, and his two little kids.
Only Father Mendale knows what evils lurk inside this deadly art and the history of Dorian Wilde, the artist who made a pact with dark forces when he created these paintings that represent the Seven Deadly Sins. Now, anyone who comes in contact with these pictures are corrupted by Pride, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Greed, Envy, and Wrath. It's up to Father Mendale and Louis' girlfriend, Kim, to save Dylan and his family before they are all destroyed by the Art of the Dead.
Tropes
- Advertised Extra:
- Despite his prominence in the credits, Richard Grieco plays a Teaser-Only Character who dies before the main action starts.
- Tara Reid is prominent in the credits, yet she only plays Ms. Barryman, the art gallery owner who sells the paintings to Dylan Wilson.
- Alpha Bitch: Everything we hear about Donna's rival Tiffany, the head cheerleader, implies that she is this, and we get to see a bit of her in action when Donna gatecrashes her party. However, it turns out Alpha Bitch is no match for a geek empowered by Envy.
- Animal Motifs: In the 'Animals' painting series, each of the Seven Deadly Sins is represented by an animal. Characters corrupted by that painting begin to take on aspects of that animal.
- Anomalous Art: The film is about a collection of seven paintings based on the Seven Deadly Sins that cause those who stay in their presence for too long to slowly be consumed by the corresponding sin.
- Another Story for Another Time: While explaining to Louis how to create the cursed paintings, Dorian Wilde casually mentions that Jack the Ripper is a friend of his and he knows Jack's true identity, before finishing "But that's a story for another time".
- Art Attacker: Not only can Dorian Wilde's seven cursed paintings corrupt those in their presence, and leave them open to possession by Wilde, they can also attack people directly. When Douglas Winter attempts to blast the Wrath painting with a shotgun, the painting sucks the shotgun into itself. The now-painted shotgun barrel then emerges from the painting and blasts Douglas.
- Asshole Victim: Tiffany is an Alpha Bitch and a Cruel Cheerleader, but probably didn't deserve the be murdered and cut up by the Envy-affected Donna.
- Barefoot Loon: Louis starts to walk around barefoot and shirtless once he's under the effect of Wrath, giving him a more "wild" vibe.
- Big-Breast Pride: When Alpha Bitch Tiffany is mocking Donna for throwing herself at her boyfriend and being rejected, she does so by highlighting that she's more attractive than Donna, untying her shawl and groping her large breasts, saying nobody would want Donna if they could have her.
- Buxom Beauty Standard: Alpha Bitch Tiffany has a well-endowed chest, which she herself brags about. Donna is so jealous of her breasts that when she kills Tiffany, she also cuts off her breasts and gives them to herself.
- Come Back to Bed, Honey: The Lust-stricken Gina attempts to lure Dylan to bed, but he's too affected by Greed to pay attention to her.
- Coitus Uninterruptus: When Douglas Winter is going through his house to try to tell his family that he has acquired the final painting in the set, he enters his son Richie's room and discovers Richie and his girlfriend Becky about to get it on. They are so wrapped up in each other that they don't even notice the interruption.
- Couldn't Find a Pen: The prostitute Louis hires to be his subject (and his canvas) opens her eyes to discover that Louis has painted vile epithets over her body in his own blood (and backwards, so she can read them in a mirror).
- Crowbar Combatant: When Louis attacks her with an axe, Kim grabs a crowbar to defend herself. After dropping it, she manages to grab it again and slug him with it.
- Cruel Cheerleader: Tiffany, the Alpha Bitch at Donna's school is also the head cheerleader. Every time Donna has an Imagine Spot regarding her, she is always dressed in her cheerleader outfit.
- Deal with the Devil: Mad Artist Dorian Wilde sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for immortality through his work.
- Death by Gluttony: Murphy, a guard at the gallery, is affected by the Gluttony painting and starts gulping down water straight from a hose until his stomach bursts.
- Demonic Possession: After enough time under the effect of the paintings, the characters become actually possessed by the spirit of Dorian Wilde himself.
- Desk Sweep of Passion: The Lust affected Gina sweeps up Dylan's papers off his desk in an attempt to convince him to have sex with her on the desk, but since he's affected by Greed, it doesn't tempt him at all.
- Disposable Sex Worker: Dorian Wilde creates the canvas for the Lust painting from the skin of a dead prostitute provided for him by Jack the Ripper. In the present day, Louis hires a prostitute to serve as a subject (and canvas) for his painting; intending to kill her afterwards. She manages to escape his attack but is later killed by Donna.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: When Gina rapes Kim, we get a scene where the goat-demon is thrusting his tongue into Kim's mouth, with the implication that Gina is doing the same to Kim's other "mouth".
- Embodiment of Vice: The 'Animals' series by Mad Artist Dorian Wilde is a set of seven paintings: each one portraying one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Anyone who spends time in the presence of one of the painting will slowly be corrupted by it. If they spend enough time in its presence, they will be transformed into an embodiment of that sin.
- Extreme Omnisexual: Gina seems like a chaste, straight and Happily Married woman, but under the effects of Lust she starts lusting after anyone and anything, including Kim—her son's girlfriend—her own daughter.
- Eye Scream: When Father Mendale is affected by the Envy painting, he rids himself of its influence by plunging the crucifix on his rosary into his eye.
- Fictional Painting: The film centres around a series of seven paintings by Mad Artist Dorian Wilde. Known collectively as 'The Animals', each of the paintings depicts an animal representing one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
- Genuine Human Hide: Mad Artist Dorian Wilde paints the seven cursed paintings on canvases made from human skin. He and Louis are seen flensing the skin from the back of a dead prostitute supplied by Jack the Ripper to make the canvas for the Lust painting.
- Glass Eye: Father Mendale has a glass eye from when he gouged his own eye out to free himself from the influence of the Envy painting.
- Going Commando: During her shopping spree, Donna leaves behind her panties in a bag as a present for the shop assistant: telling him that she doesn't wear them anymore.
- Grand Theft Me: The spirit of Mad Artist Dorian Wilde can possess the body of anyone who has been completely corrupted by one of his evil paintings. He possesses Gina after she has been completely corrupted by Lust.
- Kill It with Fire: Father Mendale tells Kim that the only way to destroy the cursed paintings is to gather them together and burn them.
- Little Bit Beastly: As people fall victim to the corruption of one of the Seven Deadly Sins, they start to develop characteristics of the animal which represents that sin. For example, as Louis is consumed by Wrath, he develops lion fangs, and as Dylan is consumed by Greed, he develops the green skin of a toad.
- Mad Artist: Dorian Wilde made a Deal with the Devil to achieve immortality through his work. He created a series of seven paintings known as 'The Animals' (or the 'Sinsation Series'), each one representing one of the Seven Deadly Sins. He used human skin as canvases and mixed his victims' blood, sweat and tears in with the paints. These paintings can corrupt anyone who comes in contact with them.
- Masturbation Means Sexual Frustration: Having been corrupted by the Lust painting, Gina gains an Extreme Libido and exhausts her husband Dylan in the bedroom. When he staggers off to try to get some work done, she finds herself still craving sexual satisfaction, so she plants the kids in front of the television, tells them she needs some "alone time", and retreats to her bedroom to masturbate.
- Meaningful Name: Can't get much more meaningful a name in a movie about evil paintings than Dorian Wilde, now can we?
- Modesty Bedsheet: Dylan and Gina both have bedsheets up to their shoulders when they have sex. Later, when Gina is masturbating, the sheet also hides the actual act from view.
- Not Himself: Anyone under the effect of the paintings starts to act in a bizarre manner. Even Kim, who has just met the Wilson family, can tell their behavior is extremely abnormal once they begin to become influenced by the paintings.
- "Not If They Enjoyed It" Rationalization: Played With. After Gina rapes Kim, the latter has a dozed-off expression suggests she enjoyed it. But when Gina herself tries to coax Kim to admit she liked it, all she gets is a sudden headbutt from Kim.
- Off with Her Head!: Donna is decapitated during the battle between Dylan and Gina in the garage.
- Organ Theft: While possessed by Envy, Donna murders the Alpha Bitch head cheerleader Tiffany, amputates her breasts, and gives herself a 'boob job' by transplanting them on to herself. She does the same thing with Tiffany's lips.
- Out with a Bang: Richie Winter and his girlfriend Becky are murdered by Richie's father while having sex.
- Overly-Long Tongue: The satyr-like embodiment of Lust has an obscenely long tongue that he forces down Kim's throat when she is being raped.
- Pater Familicide: Douglas Winter becomes this after being corrupted by the Wrath painting: moving through the house with a knife and killing every member of his family.
- The Pen Is Mightier: During Louis' vision, Dorian Wilde kills a critic by stabbing him in the neck with a paintbrush.
- Pig Man: While attempting to escape from the Portal Pictures, Kim and the kids have to get past the porcine embodiment of gluttony.
- Pool Scene: Donna goes to a pool party hosted by the Alpha Bitch of her school.
- Portal Picture: The paintings can not only corrupt the souls of those in contact with them, but once they are fully corrupted, they will be drawn into the painting and trapped there permanently. Wilde can also cause the paintings to reach out and snatch people and objects into them.
- Post-Coital Collapse: We see Dylan collapsing beside his wife in bed after they have amazing sex under the Lust painting's influence.
- Proud Beauty: When Alpha Bitch Tiffany is mocking Donna for throwing herself at her boyfriend and being rejected, she does so by highlighting that she's more attractive than Donna, untying her shawl and groping her large breasts, saying nobody would want Donna if they could have her.
- Reusable Lighter Toss: After dousing the collected canvases in paint thinner, Louis turns them into a bonfire by tossing a lit Zippo on top of them.
- Right Through the Wall: Kim is disturbed to hear Dylan and Gina screaming and grunting as they have loud sex in their bedroom. Unbeknown to her, it's because of the Lust painting.
- Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains: The Envy-affected Donna wears much skimpier clothing than she did as her normal, Shrinking Violet self.
- Seven Deadly Sins: Mad Artist Dorian Wilde made a pact with dark forces when he created seven paintings that represent the seven deadly sins. Now, anyone who comes in contact with these pictures are corrupted by Pride, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Greed, Envy, and Wrath.
- Sex Goddess: Gina gets an Extreme Libido under the effect of the Lust painting, and gives Dylan the best sex they ever had. He claims it almost gave him a heart attack.
- Shrinking Violet: Donna is a shy and awkward teen, with both her family and her school life. This starts to change after she becomes affected by the Envy} painting.
- Speak in Unison: The twins start to speak in unison after they become affected by Sloth.
- Spooky Painting: The 'Animals' series by Mad Artist Dorian Wilde is a set of seven paintings: each one portraying one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Anyone who spends time in the presence of one of the painting will slowly be corrupted by it. If they spend enough time in its presence, they will be transformed into an embodiment of that sin.
- Teaser-Only Character: Douglas Winter (Richard Grieco) and his family in the pre-title sequence which shows what happened to the last person to assemble all seven paintings in one place.
- Toplessness from the Back: When Gina takes off her shirt to sleep with her husband, she has her bare back facing the camera.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: The art gallery owner who auctions off the seven cursed paintings.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Louis starts to walk around shirtless and barefoot once he's under the effect of Wrath, giving him a more "wild" vibe.
