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Customer Reviews of The Death Artist

And the soul becomes flesh, and Walter Paesley is born.
"The Death Artist" is an excellent 1995 film that is fueled by psychological horror. Anthony Michael Hall stars as Walter Paesley, a bus boy earning minimum wage at a thriving cafe called the Jabberjaw, where independent poets, painters and actors mingle with art collectors, gallery owners and other such savvy members of the social elite. While desperately clutching his dream of becoming a legitimate sculptor, Walter is tormented by the position he is in; timid and lacking in self-confidence, he is constantly subjected to ridicule and cruel gossip bombarded on him by the cafe's snobbish in-crowd. One night, after once again making an unsuccessful attempt to mold a clay sculpture, Walter accidentally stabs and kills a cat trapped within the wall of his basement. Suddenly seeing the poor animal as a spark of inspiration, he pours plaster over the rotting carcass and creates his first free-standing piece, all the while keeping the serrated knife embedded in the cat's back. Soon, his "Dead Cat" statue becomes a local sensation, but the Jabberjaw's visitors are hungry for more. As the frustrated Walter suffers the growing pressure of upholding his reputation, he gravitates toward making 3 more pieces, this time from human subjects (one of them decapitated!). Soon, the tension mounts as the frozen white plaster cracks and flakes off Walter's masterpieces, gradually exposing the terrifying truth. What makes this film truly work is how Anthony Michael Hall's character is not a cold-blooded murderer, but rather a lonely and sensitive human being overwhelmed by fear: while Walter nervously tries to avoid getting arrested by the cops, he at the same time is afraid of being ultimately rejected and labeled as a loser and a has-been. "The Death Artist," in general, is all about wanting to fit in, and of how the average misfit will go to any lengths to achieve that purpose. Another great element in this film is the nature of the Jabberjaw cafe. The bittersweet atmosphere juxtaposes various poetry renditions with young adult angst and negative criticism, which wafts across the building and mixes with the agitated aromas of coffee and cigarette smoke. Some of the stage performances in the film are very funny, since they are both profound and downright ridiculous. I specifically remember one stage performance called "Sexist Transportation," where a woman plays a sorrowful tune on a violin while simultaneously stripping down to the nude. Also, the passionate customers who frequent the cafe are obsessively immersed in Shakespeare, Dadaism and drugs. I personally believe that the overall dialogue greatly reflects what people might say in the real world, while the story itself displays a scary comic book feel (like Creepshow and Tales from the Crypt). All in all, "The Death Artist" is indeed worth watching all the way through, as it successfully unleashes frightning horror with very little onscreen gore or bloodshed.

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Just an all around funny movie!
This film was hilarious! I know a handful of artists and some of them really do act like that! I laughed from beginning to end! Anthony Michael Hall gave a fantastic performance as Walter. The one way trip to insanity was well played by my favorite actor. You can't help but feel sorry for poor Walter. This film is dark, but delightful!! "I made them immortal.."

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Excellent dark satire
The casting is inspired, the direction solid, the script is on-target. This is one of Justine Bateman's better movies, and as usual her performance is absolutely flawless. She did some performance art of her own and around the same time as this film, which is nice background info to consider while watching her work in this movie.