It's difficult to describe the experience of watching writer/director Tatiana Paris's 14-minute short film Memoirs of a Dead Bitch, a darkly comical short film about a young woman named Toddy (Paris) who is led down a path into masochistic cheap dates and sexual regret after she gets dumped by the love of her life. 

There's something about Paris's Toddy that you instantly love but that is also instantly rather jarring, an off-kilter mental status of sorts that is thrown into complete and utter disarray after the unexpected break-up. To give too much of Memoirs of a Dead Bitch away would be a shame as it's definitely the kind of film best experienced. Suffice it to say, however, that this isn't a film for the timid moviegoer and yet there's also nothing in the film that's particularly offensive. 

Okay, maybe that's because I'm not easily offended. 

Memoirs of a Dead Bitch is an interesting film. It's a complex film. It's a sexual film. It's a sad film. It's a funny film. It's a dark film. Memoirs of a Dead Bitch is just about what you'd expect from a film called Memoirs of a Dead Bitch, though if you groove into its vibe you're also going to have an awful lot of fun with it. 

Paris is actually quite the joy to behold here, the kind of alternate universe sadsack you might find in a Harmony Korine film yet the joy of it all is that this is nor a Harmony Korine film - it's a Tatiana Paris film and Toddy is a creation all her own. I'd easily watch a feature film with her as there's something about her that just draws you in and makes you want to exist in her uncomfortable, chaotic, dizzying, and self-destructive world. 

Okay, maybe I have issues. 

Production credits are rock solid throughout the film including lensing by John Calabrese and Bill Zsunkan's original music. For more information on the film, visit its official Facebook page linked to in the credits. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic