The Deaths of Ian Stone is extremely polished and often exciting, but is rarely frightening, let alone harrowing.  No doubt about it:  this "film to die for" is an immanently watchable popcorn flick that, if you buy into its pseudo-reincarnation premise, certainly provides diverting entertainment.  Even at its most grim, you're pretty sure that all will turn out for the best, which for many will undercut its horror aspirations.  Indeed, the temptation is to classify Dario Piana's film as an out-and-out fantasy, but if it is, it's of such a dark variety that I'd argue it's still perfectly at home in Horrorfest's lineup.

Still, the sentimental message at the heart of the story borders on the trite.  Indeed, its affirmation of romantic love can be seen as either hopelessly corny or a refreshing change-up in today's nihilistic horror market.  Again, such thematic concerns reflect the influence of fantasy, a genre in which happy endings are more the norm than in the horror.  In fact, it's hard to escape the perception that, as the lead, Mike Vogel comes across more as a fantasy hero than the gritty, unlikely, or flawed protagonist horror fans might prefer.  Both in appearance and manner, Vogel looks like he could be cast in a superhero saga or a dragons-and-knights adventure tale.  All in all, his portrayal of the deeply troubled Ian Stone is a bit too milquetoast for me.  Perhaps his performance is largely the result of how Piana directed him, to represent an everyman with whom the target audience could identify.  However, such a bland protagonist made it initially difficult for me to get into the film.  I'm not suggesting that Vogel should have forced some "edginess" on us, but rather that he was not compelling even in his ordinariness.  To be fair, eventually the movie does put him through his paces, turning him into a junkie and even the victim of (fairly mild) torture before a final transformation that is, by and large, satisfying dramatically.  That is, once his character gets more interesting, so does his performance.

Piana directs with a sure hand that plays up the strengths of Brendan Hood's script while downplaying its problems.  For the most part, his film feels like a feature-length Twilight Zone episode filtered through a Wachowski Brothers sensibility.  In fact, The Matrix-like feel becomes more pronounced later in the film, when the outfits run to sexy leather and the bad guys start wearing shades.  Other movies that may come to mind are Dark City (1998) and Final Destination (2000).  The literary antecedents are probably too many to list.  At one point, in relation to the character played by Christina (Hex) Cole, I was reminded of the Borges story "The Circular Ruins," with its killer ending in which the main character realizes he is simply the product of another's dream.  Ian Stone's spiraling narrative, in which characters, situations, and even dialogue is revisited, largely achieves the disorienting effect it's shooting for without becoming annoying.  Comparisons to Groundhog Day (1993) are inevitable.

In addition to a premise that represents an ambitious take on "metaphysical" or "psychic" vampirism, Ian Stone has two other major elements going for it.  The first is the presence of Jaime Murray from TV's Hustle and Dexter and very good in a more conventional role in Kit Ryan's hilarious horror-comedy Botched (2007).  Here Piana uses her mask-like, almost otherworldly features to full effect in the manner of horror icon Barbara Steele.  Able casting and cinematography should also be acknowledged in this regard, as should Murray herself, who carefully avoids going too far over the top.  The other key element is the wonderful creature effects from the Stan Winston team.  I'll leave it to others to explain how they are achieved, but the results appear to be a remarkable blend of CGI/post-production technology and more conventional approaches.  They are very memorable.