Fern’s boyfriend, Robert dies in a bizarre accident while declaring his undying love. Unfortunately for her, this is a guy who keeps his promises.
I may be alone in asking in this, I may not, but what the hell is the deal with this epidemic of horror rom coms about girlfriends coming back from the dead that has emerged recently? So far we’ve had Life After Beth (2014), starring Chronicle’s Dane DeHaan; the UK’s own Nina Forever (2015) and Joe Dante’s surprisingly mediocre Burying The Ex (2015). I ask ‘what’s the deal’ because most of them suck. That, and they each have a glare of borderline sexism. At least Clinger has the imagination to flip the script. This time it’s the boyfriend who’s back from the dead.
There’s every reason a movie like Clinger should get under your skin, and yet somehow it manages to remain bearable. Probably because whenever you feel your fingertips itchin’ and twitchin’ for the eject button on your remote something in the style of Death Becomes Her happens, except with a lot more blood.
Boyfriend Robert, played by Vincent Martella, is a highlight where the performances are concerned as he portrays the adoring, obsessive type to near perfection… if it weren’t for that damn song. You’ll see what I mean. It’s a kick to see Lisa Wilcox, Alice from the Nightmare on Elm Street series, in the role of Robert’s mother, but sadly you won’t see much of her.
LAST WORDS:
There’s 10 minutes of filler in the mix that its merciful 80-minute running time could do without. It does get a little bit too cutesy in places, but that is the point, I guess. Clinger may not come close to horror rom coms such as Shaun of the Dead (2004), but at least it’s better than Dante’s movie.