Kissed (1996)

Over the years, a child's romantic ideals about death blossom into necrophilia, the study of embalming and the most profound relationship of her life.

Director:

Lynne Stopkewich

Writers:

Angus Fraser (screenplay), Lynne Stopkewich (screenplay)

Stars:

Molly Parker, Peter Outerbridge, Jay Brazeau

7 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Molly Parker	...	Sandra Larson
Peter Outerbridge	...	Matt
Jay Brazeau	...	Mr. Wallis
Natasha Morley	...	Young Sandra
Jessie Winter Mudie	...	Carol
James Timmons	...	Jan
Joe Maffei	...	Biology Teacher
Robert Thurston	...	Detective
Annabel Kershaw	...	Mother Larson
Tim Dixon	...	Father Larson
Amber Warnat	...	Lisa Brown
Bill Finck	...	Minister
Janet Craig	...	Mourner
Edward Davey	...	Embalming Prof.
Hamish Wilson	...	Gurney Goner - Cadaver

Storyline

Sandra Larson has always been fascinated by the entire sensory experience surrounding death: its touch, smell and look. As a child, she would search out dead animals and perform ritualistic burials. As a young woman, Sandra gets a job at Wallis Funeral Home, first as a general assistant, then progressing to study to become an embalmer. At the funeral home, she begins to take her fascination with death to the next level by becoming a necrophiliac. But she also begins her first ever relationship with Matt, a medical student, with who she is totally open about her necrophilia. He finds this aspect of her compelling. He becomes all consumed with her as she is consumed with dead people. The questions become how far he will take this fascination with her to understand fully what is going through her emotional being, how far she will allow him to go, and how far can her feelings for him extend as a live being.

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Plot Keywords:

nudity | female nudity | female pubic hair | female full frontal nudity | breasts | 

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Taglines:

Love Knows No Bounds.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for aberrant sexuality and some language

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 April 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Besado

Filming Locations:

Maple Ridge Cemetery, Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$34,552, 13 April 1997, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$465,417, 18 May 1997

Company Credits

Production Co:

Boneyard Film Company Inc.,British Columbia Film,Canada Council Media Arts

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min 88 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song in the final scene and at the beginning of the end credits is "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" by Sarah McLachlan.

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Goofs

When Mr. Wallis is teaching Sandra to embalm, he is working on the left side while explaining the jugular/carotid injection method. In reality one point embalming is done on the right side.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sandra Larson: When you die, your life... flashes, and you disintegrate, radiating energy. When a thing turns into its opposite, when love becomes hate, there are always sparks. But when life turns into death, it's explosive. There are streaks of light, magical, and electrifying. Everyone senses something, some energy, some spirit, some sort of illumination, But I see it. I've seen bodies shining like stars. Some say there's no soul, no afterlife, that life and death is the straightest line on ...

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Crazy Credits

League of Champions: Mr. & Mrs. Hyman, Anonymous

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Alternate Versions

The Hong Kong VCD release sometimes found on eBay cuts some scenes down, and blocks out nudity with black boxes.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Anaconda/Grosse Point Blank/Paradise Road/Keys to Tulsa/Kissed/Mabarosi (1997)

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Soundtracks

Try To Believe
Performed by Ginger
Written by Hooper / Vincent Jones (as Jones) / Hooper
Published by Giver Music/Warner-Chappell

User Reviews

I see dead people ...

... and Molly Parker is having sex with all of them!

If you're like me, then you saw Parker's mesmerizing performance in Center of the World and searched out more of her work. In "Kissed," she's excellent and almost enough to pull this film up to the level to which it aspires.

Give "Kissed" credit for having the guts to make necrophelia such a dominant theme, but at the same time, that's its downfall, too. Sure, necrophelia is symbolic of something greater (attempting to get closer to God and Heaven), and we're supposed to recognize it as a device. But necrophelia still is a sickness, and I have a hard time accepting that it can be anything other than extremely deviant.