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Death Becomes Her

Death Becomes Her

Comedy · Fantasy · Horror · 1992

Madeline is married to Ernest, who was once her arch-rival Helen's fiancé. After recovering from a mental breakdown, Helen vows to kill Madeline and steal back Ernest. Unfortunately for everyone, the introduction of a magic potion causes things to be a great deal more complicated than a mere murder plot.

Movie details

Death Becomes Her

“In one small bottle... The fountain of youth. The secret of eternal life. The power of an ancient potion. Sometimes it works... sometimes it doesn't.”

1992 Comedy · Fantasy · Horror 1h 44m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

Madeline is married to Ernest, who was once her arch-rival Helen's fiancé. After recovering from a mental breakdown, Helen vows to kill Madeline and steal back Ernest. Unfortunately for everyone, the introduction of a magic potion causes things to be a great deal more complicated than a mere murder plot.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Death Becomes Her?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Robert Zemeckis

Written by

David Koepp · Martin Donovan

Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep

Madeline Ashton Menville

Goldie Hawn

Goldie Hawn

Helen Sharp

Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis

Dr. Ernest Menville

Isabella Rossellini

Isabella Rossellini

Lisle von Rhuman

Ian Ogilvy

Ian Ogilvy

Chagall

Adam Storke

Adam Storke

Dakota

Alaina Reed Hall

Alaina Reed Hall

Psychologist

Court is in session

Put Death Becomes Her on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.