'He Never Died' - Movie Review

Henry Rollins plays Jack, a middle-aged guy who spends a lot of time sleeping, rarely knows what time it is, and goes to play Bingo whenever he can. He doesn't appear to have a job, and is both very uncommunicative and exceedingly blunt when he does talk. But things go kind of sideways as the intern he visits at the hospital to supply him with his fixes (we don't find out what it is he's buying for a while) unintentionally gets him entangled with some local gangsters. And his 19 year old daughter he didn't know he had shows up uninvited to stay with him.

Rollins, when he's on stage, is a brash, obnoxious motormouth. Jack is about as far from that persona as you can imagine, and it's a hell of a performance. While it's a spoiler, it's in the trailer so I'm going to say it: if he can be considered a reliable narrator, he's Cain. You know, from the bible? His punishment for that murder you may have heard about is to live forever (he's literally unkillable). And he's kind of addicted to eating human flesh: his isolation is an attempt to control that. But events just don't go his way ...

This is listed as "Horror Comedy," but that just doesn't seem to adequately cover it to me. Rollins' acting is above and beyond anything called for in that genre. And his character both has a moral compass and is at least somewhat sympathetic, which doesn't seem quite right in "horror." As for "comedy ..." There are some very (darkly!) funny jokes, but I found it more thought-provoking than funny. I was significantly frustrated by the ending, which offers almost zero closure for anyone involved - the movie just stops. So I have no damn idea how to classify this one, but - despite some problems - I really enjoyed it. Not for everyone, but if "Horror Comedy" normally works for you and you don't mind having to think about a multitude of unanswered questions ... it's pretty damn interesting.