Ancient Irish folk songs have horrifying repercussions in Paul Duane’s All You Need is Death. The film has just begun its festival tour and is set to have horror fans caught in its stranglehold of terror. The plot joins young couple Anna (Simone Collins) and Aleks (Charlie Maher) on their mission to collect rare folk songs. Certain Irish folk songs have become scarce and the couple supply collectors with hard to find compositions. However, after encountering Rita Concannon (Olwen Fouéré), they find their lives and relationship forever changed.
When watching All You Need it Death, there is little need to be concerned about its overall narrative. Much like music itself, this is a film that works purely because of the atmosphere that it creates. Duane envelops every frame with a formidable and foreboding sense of dread. That the plot is kept loose, and the information light, reinforces this unease, making it a genuine struggle for the viewer to hold their nerve till the end. All You Need is Death is effortlessly creepy. The stunningly eerie score sets the perfect disturbing mood. Watching Duane’s latest film is akin to stumbling into a bad dream.
Perpetuating the enigmatic aura is a sense that All You Need is Death is happening out of time. Like the songs that Anna and Aleks are dragging into the modern world, All You Need is Death has one foot in the past, the other in the present. This is represented by the inclusion of the folk songs themselves, mixed with cassette recordings and the use of mobile phones. Time is spun on its head, and the collision of the old ways meeting the modern world has sinister ramifications.
The mystery of the narrative is complimented with some terrifying imagery. That the viewer doesn’t quite understand what or why things are happening, for the bulk of the story at least, is thrilling. When coupled with such confronting visages, All You Need is Death is elevated to another plain of fright. The scares do not come via the modern day trope of a jump scare, instead they slide under the skin and gnaw on the psyche. It’s an elegant nightmare that should fill even the most hardened horror fan with trepidation. This is a film that lingers, and there is a very real sense that once experienced, All You Need is Death will not be forgotten.
All You Need is Death
Summary
A dark folk-tale breathed into life, Paul Duane’s All You Need is Death is an excellent composition. A near-flawless orchestration of dread, this is a film that seeps underneath your skin and stains your psyche.
All You Need is Death was reviewed at Sitges 2023.
