Watch The King is Dead

The King is Dead is a British independent film directed by Rolf de Heer, in which an unevenly-matched and highly dysfunctional couple find themselves embroiled in a stranger-than-fiction situation when they inadvertently become landlords of a crumbling and inordinately messy apartment in a run-down part of Glasgow. The film stars Martha Cope as the highly-strung and neurotic Liz, who is desperate to start a family with her boyfriend, Ben (Ben Mendelsohn), but who is constantly thwarted by his intermittent commitment to their relationship. When Ben's job takes him away from home for a week, Liz decides to take matters into her own hands and starts searching for a new home for them both. Despite being warned off by Ben's dad, who claims that Glasgow is a dangerous place, Liz manages to find what appears to be a perfect apartment - cheap rent, lots of space, and big windows that let in lots of light.

However, when Liz arrives at the new apartment, she quickly realizes that it's not quite as perfect as it seems. The previous tenant has left an extraordinary amount of rubbish and debris behind, and the current tenants - a group of rowdy and uncivilized squatters - are less than pleased to see her. After a heated confrontation with one of the tenants, Liz decides to stay and clean up the apartment, hoping that Ben will come home and be impressed with her initiative.

Things go from bad to worse when Liz discovers that the previous tenant, a mysterious and reclusive man named Jesus Christ (David Schaal), has died in the apartment, leaving behind a small fortune in cash and drugs. Before she knows it, Liz is caught up in a web of deceit and blackmail, as she struggles to keep the apartment and the cash out of the hands of the sinister and dangerous characters who are determined to get hold of it.

Despite its dark subject matter, The King is Dead manages to inject a good deal of black comedy into its proceedings, as Liz and Ben's increasingly absurd attempts to protect themselves and their new property become more and more desperate. The film also benefits from a strong and engaging cast, particularly Cope, who effortlessly conveys Liz's frazzled nerves and mounting hysteria.

The King is Dead is not a film for everyone - it's violent, profane, and often deeply unsettling, but for those who like their comedies pitch black and their dramas shot through with existential dread, it is certainly worth a watch.