Like
most serial killers, Jonathan the amusement park maintenance man is handy
around the house, but he is not so well versed in embalming techniques and
taxidermy. To be fair, he might not exactly be a serial killer, per se, but he
is deeply disturbed and profoundly antisocial. When an attractive intruder accidentally
dies in his basement, the damaged young man rather starts to enjoy her company,
but the natural breakdown of her body threatens to end their quality time in
Joseph Wartnerchaney’s Decay (trailer here), which is now playing in Los
Angeles.
Don’t
jump to sicko conclusions. As far as we ever see, Jonathan is quite chaste in
his affection for Katlyn Kelly. She and her friend assumed the horticultural paraphernalia
they spied in his basement were the stuff of a marijuana grow. Alas, it was
orchids. Startled by the deer-in-the-headlights Jonathan, Kelly takes a fatal fall,
while her BFF runs headlong into oncoming traffic. However, rather than trying
to explain the awkward circumstances, Jonathan keeps Kelly in his basement,
trying to preserve her for the sake of the delusional romance he creates in his
mind.
Sadly, this
might just be the healthiest relationship of his life. As any horror fan will
assume, his Mommie Dearest was a controlling, hyper-righteous nightmare. She
does her best to twist him into knots during the regular flashback sequences.
Unfortunately, his mother’s busybody neighbor friend and his lecherous
co-worker are not exactly stabilizing influences. All things considered, it is
hard to judge him harshly for the macabre business that ensures, even though we
suspect his POV might not be entirely sound.
Frankly,
it is quite remarkable how un-exploitative Decay
is, given the potentially lurid nature of its subject matter. Nor is there
much blood, but there are plenty of wormy parasites that start to come out of
the not so well preserved corpse. Indeed, this is not the sort of film that
helps boost popcorn sales.
As
Jonathan, Rob Zabrecky has a sort of quietly edgy Nick Chinlund thing going on,
which mostly suits the film’s tone. He clearly projects a sense of Jonathan’s
stunted development, without ever letting viewers feel at ease with him. However,
he is regularly upstaged by the outrageously tart-tongued Jackie Hoffman as the
scoldy neighbor constantly trying to motivate him to better himself. Elisha
Yaffe is also rather nutty as his boastful co-worker, but he pales in
comparison to Hoffman. Unfortunately, the soon-to-be-deceased Katlyn Kelly is a
tough role for Hannah Barron to make her screen debut, but she is a good sport
when it comes to the layered on make-up effects.
