Death leads to dubious love in this endlessly inventive delight that pays no regard to traditional genre boundaries.

Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead send bereaved lead Evan (Lou Taylor Pucci) on a quest of self-discovery to Italy that veers into a boozy road trip then mellows into a genuinely funny and intriguing romantic horror.

Pucci and Louise (Nadia Hilker) have a powerful chemistry that centres the film and the supernatural elements are teased out at a rewarding pace. It’s disappointing then that at the crucial moment scriptwriter Benson chooses to offer implausible scientific explanations rather than keep a little mystery alive.

Excellent editing and direction makes good use of drone cameras to add a sense of supernatural mystery to this quiet seaside town. Hilker is magnetic and Pucci endearing but the film loses its confident footing a little after the big reveal.

RATING: 4/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Lou Taylor Pucci, Nadia Hilker, Francesco Carnelutti, Jeremy Gardner

DIRECTORS: Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead

WRITER: Justin Benson

SYNOPSIS: A young man in a personal tailspin flees the US to Italy, where he sparks up a romance with a woman harbouring a dark, primordial secret.