A Good Death review

By Simon Thompson

Writer/director Kaz Ps’s A Good Death is an engaging and imaginative short film which keeps you constantly guessing from start to finish. A Good Death manages to pull off that rare feat for a short, in that it successfully tells a satisfying three act story in eleven minutes, yet ends in such a way that you want to know what happens next.

The plot of A Good Death follows Amalia (Tracie Thoms), a death doula ( a medical professional who gives moral support during various serious procedures) who is contacted for her services by Tabitha (Stefanie Estes) who wants Amalia’s help in making sure her dying mother Gertrude (Jenny O’Hara) passes into the next life as painlessly as possible. As soon as Amalia walks into the house, however, she notices that something strange is lurking within it. 

The music by Vaal establishes the movie’s creepy tone early, and through a carefully constructed sound design you are made to feel nervous from the outset, a feeling which continually builds up right until the end. The cinematography by Adrian Peng Correia is crisp and professional, bolstered by a distinct colour palette which goes from homely at the start of the film to a brilliant dark as the narrative escalates. 

The acting is consistently solid across the board, but if you can make an argument for any of the three leads stealing the movie, that honour would go to Jenny O’Hara as Getrude, who goes from being a sickly frail old lady into something truly terrifying without it ever coming across as unconvincing and out of character.Overall, A Good Death is a well-directed, well-acted and intelligently realised short film that is more than deserving of the buzz that it has generated on the festival circuit. This might sound a little odd, but if you’ve ever wondered what Meet Joe Black would be like if it was a horror movie instead of a romance, then A Good Death is the short film for you.