[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Nina Forever (2015)

Nina Forever is a highly unusual British film. A young man, Rob, a year after losing his girlfriend, Nina, in a horrific road accident meets Holly and they strike up a relationship. Rob is still partly in shock and has 'Nina Forever' tattooed on his back. As his relationship with Holly develops and becomes physical, Nina, in a moment of Clive Barker type sickness, comes back into their lives, still blood soaked and sliced up from the accident. Holly who is a trainee paramedic isn't as strung out by this as she should be and slowly develops a sexual relationship with Nina as well as with Rob. What follows is a pitch black comedy about getting through tragedy and a sexual relationship where one of the lovers is dead.

I thought Nina Forever was brilliant. A far cry from a typical Hollywood ghost story. The couple don't try and drive Nina out of their lives with the usual exorcisms, in fact in time they embrace her, especially Holly, and it all becomes very 'Grittish' as bed clothes are changed following every sexual encounter due to the amount of blood involved and Rob has to come to terms with Nina actually seemingly being forever, as well as having to approach the subject of his new found love for Holly with Nina's still grief stricken parents. These scenes which involve Nina's parents (David Troughton and Elizabeth Elvin) are very poignant as well as being awkward in the extreme.

Making their first feature, the writing/directing team of Ben and Chris Blaine create believable yet far out scenarios that are written and acted especially beautifully. Abigail Hardingham as Holly is a real standout as is the wild eyed Fiona O’Shaughnessy as Nina. In a way Cian Barry as Rob is understated but he has to be in order for this to work so wonderfully well.

Nina Forever is a hauntingly beautiful piece of film making. It's strong sex and gore aspects verge on the extreme but it has to be that way for the whole thing to work as well as it does in this unpredictable and unforgettable British horror movie.

Duly noted.