William (Aidan Devine) is a simple farmer with a cushy side hustle; he makes the dead bodies generated by ye olde crime lord and his ilk vanish all nice and neat like, ya dig? Now ol’ Billiam ain’t fond of the gig, but it pays large, and with the dough he’s saving he plans on starting a better life for himself and his daughter Gloria (Ava Preston). Speaking of G-dawg; she’s convinced she sees the spirits of some of them stiffs haunting their humble abode!
Things continue on until one day the corpse of a woman, Jackie (Jess Salgueiro) is dumped off…but she isn’t as dead as previously established. Our heroes nurse her back to health, and keep her captive until they can figure out just what in he hell to do with her…but the decision might not be their’s as those vile villains that left her for dead catch wind of their error and aim to rectify it post haste!
I’ll Take Your Dead is an odd one boils n’ ghouls. It isn’t strictly a fright flick; though it has plenty of grim biz on display (including some solid practical make-up and effects), and there is a supernatural undercurrent (more on that in a bit)…rather this is a character piece; and it’s a demonic doozy!
Preston is a gem as the quirky Gloria, and is actually a kid in a fright flick that you can tolerate…which is no small feat believe you me, and the tortured family dynamic between her and Devine as her father is touching and layered as we see a man who wants to do better by his daughter no matter what pitch-black shit he has to slog through, and her complicated feelings towards him. Also of note is the performance brought to the table by Salgueiro as Jackie, who though strapped to bed for most of the runtime, nevertheless gives an emotional turn that captivates the viewer.
Adding to the overall aesthetic of the piece is a dreary sense of foreboding aided and abetted by the snowbound exteriors and remote farm location…this is a cold environment where dreadful business transpires and it’s suitably dire.
On the opposite side of the coin; the way the aforementioned supernatural elements are handled late in the film wasn’t the most satisfying thing I’ve ever laid my eerie eyeballs on, but your mileage may vary…and to say more would place us balls deep in spoiler territory, and I ain’t treadin’ there my creeps!
As for special features on this Blu-ray release from Scream Factory, things are light, but what is there is solid and includes: a behind-the-scenes featurette, deleted scenes, a script-to-screen comparison, and the film’s trailer.
Filled with strong performances, an ever-mounting sense of dread and tension, and at least a touch of the preternatural; I’ll Take Your Dead is well worth a horror hound’s time and is sure to satisfy!
