Movies
‘All You Need Is Death’ Review – Bewitching Irish Folk Tale Sings of the Tragedy of All-Consuming Love
Everyone wants to be loved, but there is a fine line between a healthy, loving relationship and an unhealthy, compulsive kind of love. Some of the most beautiful, and terrifying, love stories belong to ancient Irish mythology. For instance, the tale of Clíodhna and Ciabhan tells the story of Clíodhna, Queen of the Banshees and member of a supernatural race of God-like beings, who made the mistake of falling in love with a mortal from Ireland named Ciabhan. Their forbidden romance angered the other gods, causing the God of the Sea to punish the lovers by playing an enchanting song, which hypnotized Clíodhna. Entranced, Clíodhna fell asleep and was swept away by the ocean, never to be with Ciabhan.
All You Need is Death, written and directed by Irish filmmaker Paul Duane (Best Before Death, While You Live, Shine), is a cleverly crafted story of young lovers Anna (Simone Collins) and Aleks (Charlie Maher) that feels like the sort of forbidden Irish fairy tale one would tell while sitting around a fire late at night. All You Need is Death begins with an unknown man being interviewed by police, before introducing Anna, who is being accused of recording a musician in a bar. Anna and Aleks attempt to make a living by spending their nights playing in a band in small bars and at weddings but believe they have figured out a better, faster way to the fame and fortune they desire. When they aren’t playing with the band, the couple seeks out old Irish songs, sometimes secretly recording them, and later sells them to wealthy buyers.
Eventually, Anna and Aleks attend group meetings led by Agnes (Catherine Siggin), an older, mysterious woman, with questionable intentions, who is also looking for ancient songs. When the couple tells Agnes they heard rumors about an old woman named Rita Concannon (Olwen Fouéré) who might know an obscure Irish song that they could sell, Agnes tells them the woman died several years ago. Anna and Aleks finally track down Rita Concannon, who is very much alive, only to find Agnes at her house trying to get the song from her before they can. Rita agrees to sing a song she learned from her mother that was passed down through generations of women, but she will only sing it for Anna. Rita explains that the song isn’t in Irish; it’s a much older language and was only allowed to be shared between mothers and their daughters.
Aleks is waiting outside Rita’s house and is surprised when Anna comes out visibly upset after listening to the unearthly, ancient song Rita sang for her. Anna was not allowed to record the song, but she can sing it from memory and the couple begins attempting to translate the song, hoping they can sell it and have a better life. Unfortunately, the song has an unusual, bewitching effect on anyone who hears it, especially men.
All You Need is Death is dripping with atmosphere and dread and doesn’t need to rely on flashy special effects or jump scares. Makeup and visual effects are minimalist, yet incredibly effective. Strong, convincing performances and a haunting, well-written script with themes of witchcraft and ancient rituals mesmerize the viewer in much the same way as the eerie song Rita sings for Anna. The film is an effortlessly hypnotic lesson on the horror of all-consuming love and the desire to consume another person.
Culminating in a jaw-dropping finale, All You Need is Death is an expertly executed, tragic love story and a beautifully written ode to ancient Irish folklore.
All You Need is Death premiered at 2024 Panic Fest, which offered a hybrid festival experience this year. It will be in select U.S. cinemas and on VOD from XYZ Films on April 11th.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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