The Dead Thing (2025) is directed by Elric Kane, who wrote the script alongside Webb Wilcoxen. It stars Blu Hunt, Ben Smith-Peterson, Katherine Hughes, John Karna, Joey Millin, Brennan Mejia, Josh Marble, and Aerial Washington. The film follows Alex (Hunt), a single 20-something who finds herself in a toxic dating cycle until she falls head-over-heels for Kyle (Smith-Peterson), a handsome and sensitive yet mysterious man she matches with on a Tinder-like app. After their idyllic first date, Kyle’s strange behavior eventually leads to a dark revelation about his past. Torn between her passionate love for Kyle and the unsettling nature of his existence, Alex begins to slowly lose her grasp on reality. Desperate to regain her sanity, she sets out to sever her relationship with Kyle once and for all. The thing is, Kyle intends to make Alex his one and only, no matter the cost. 

Although the characters are a tad unlikeable (especially Blu Hunt’s Alex), the young cast shows that they’re skilled and capable performers. Blu Hunt is good despite the fact that her character is sort of a drag. She provides precisely the kind of performance the character requires, but it’s the kind of character who’s often rude, depressed, and quiet but also constantly makes insufferably stupid decisions. I suppose the characterization works as a stereotypical hot girl who doesn’t have a personality, but that’s not really a character I’m dying to follow unless she’s given a few redeeming qualities. Although touched upon, I wish the film had dived a lot deeper into exploring the dating woes of people who have zero issues in the looks department. Even if Alex stayed equally grating, the behavior would nearly feel justified if it provided more complex themes/ideas. 

The film features a heavy dose of romance, and although the connection between Alex and Kyle is mostly a dud, the film eventually finds romantic success in Alex’s relationship with her nice-guy coworker, Chris. John Karna isn’t a particularly convincing actor, but the character is the exact kind of presence the movie needs from the very beginning. He acts as a tool to bring out the best in Alex; I just wish he was introduced a tad sooner. Unfortunately, the film is much too on-the-nose in its depiction of male dating archetypes. One guy is outright creepy in his behavior, another is only creepy below the surface, and the remaining is actually a pretty good guy. Dating sucks, but it ideally only has to work out once. What’s new? Being reminded of it only causes me to shrug.

This is essentially a full-blooded, nightmare-dating thriller that naturally breeds awkward interactions between single people, but it never quite goes far enough to be memorable or original. It’s a slow burn that lacks kills/scares until ¾ of the way in, but they don’t feel worth the buildup. The slow-burn approach needs to be in service of one or two big scares that can’t be achieved without proper, long-form escalation. If the eventual scares don’t take advantage of all the setup, it makes the viewer wonder why the payoff wasn’t just sprinkled throughout instead. It wouldn’t have fixed the film by any means, but the pacing would have definitely improved.  

The film occasionally features some strong visual storytelling, but other than that, it’s never very interesting. Besides the fact that it lacks surprises, there’s often a lot of abstract storytelling that’s just plain confusing. Answers are eventually given, but they don’t make up for how long you’re stuck with such frustrating questions. A good twist/surprise isn’t created through confusion that is eventually clarified – that’s just an answer. A good twist presents something with a clear meaning/perspective that the audience understands but then reframes it in a surprising yet logical way. If we know something isn’t meant to be understood, eventually understanding it never feels unexpected. Instead, it is better to make the viewer think they understand something right up until the moment the rug is pulled out from under them. 

On top of all these blunders, the film also features its share of moments that simply don’t make any logical sense. For example, one character is killed by being suffocated with a wedding dress that is almost entirely made of breathable mesh. She loses air and dies, but it’s clear that even an asthmatic would be able to breathe easily in the same situation.  

Overall, this is a highly forgettable addition to the Shudder streaming catalog. It’s both boring and unoriginal. The performances are okay, but the characters are undeniably irritating. At 90 minutes, it’s structured in a way that makes it feel closer to two hours. The ending is serviceably dark, but that is about the only silver lining I can find. It’s not particularly awful, but it is boring. There’s a chance less picky horror fans will find something to enjoy here, but I’d never even think of recommending it. C