All You Need Is Death (2023)

Aleks and Anna travel across Ireland collecting old songs which they then sell to various collectors for a price. One night they happen upon a long forgotten love song. It's a song of consuming love that has been passed down orally to all of the women in a certain family. The woman who knows the song will sing it for Anna on the condition that Aleks wait outside and that she does not record the song or write it down once she's heard it.  Unfortunately Anna records the song and then begins to try and decipher what it means....

This is not a film of monsters and jump scares. This is a film of mood and building Dread. This is a film that strives to create a feeling of doom.

I am mixed regarding writer/director/producer Paul Duane’s ALL YOU NEED IS DEATH. This is a film with one hell of a story and script  that feels undercut by the way it's shot. perfectly framed  with people seemingly placed in the frame so they are more often then not facing the camera instead of each other the film feels incredibly slick. It feels like it's staged at times and not life. There is a perfection to the images that is a bit too perfect for the story being told. The perfection of the images and the staging of some sequences kept me out of the film and kept the unease to a minimum. 

But it's not the fault of script or the cast. The cast is very good and the script is first rate. The script chills, and creates an oppressive atmosphere, while the cast sell what is happening.

If I sound like I dislike the film, I'm sorry. I actually love most of the film. I love enough of the film that I wish the film was shot better.

My reservation aside ALL YOU NEED IS DEATH is worth a look.