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Kissed

Kissed is a 1996 Canadian independent drama film directed and co-written by Lynne Stopkewich, adapting Barbara Gowdy's short story "We So Seldom Look on Love" from her 1992 collection of the same name.^[1] The narrative centers on Sandra Larson, portrayed by Molly Parker, a young woman whose childhood fascination with death evolves into necrophilia, prompting her to pursue a career as an embalmer where she engages in sexual acts with male corpses.^[2] While working at a funeral home, Sandra enters a romantic relationship with Matt, a living classmate who becomes aware of and attempts to accommodate her preferences, highlighting tensions between her atypical desires and conventional intimacy.^[3] The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section and received critical acclaim for its unflinching yet empathetic portrayal of taboo subject matter, earning Molly Parker the Genie Award for Best Actress.^[1] Despite its explicit themes, Kissed explores motifs of transcendence and personal authenticity, distinguishing it from mere sensationalism through Stopkewich's sensitive direction and Parker's nuanced performance.^[2] It garnered a 67% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on contemporary reviews, reflecting divided but engaged responses to its provocative content.^[3]

Synopsis

Plot summary

Sandra Larson develops a childhood fascination with death, collecting dead animals from roadsides and performing ritualistic burials in the forest, which involve undressing the bodies before interring them.^[4] As a teenager, she wanders into a funeral home, sparking her aspiration to work with the deceased; she later trains in embalming while studying in college and secures an apprenticeship at Wallis Funeral Home.^[3]^[4] At the funeral home, Sandra secretly engages in necrophilic acts with male corpses during the embalming process, finding a profound sense of connection in their stillness.^[2]^[5] She forms a romantic relationship with Matt, a coworker who becomes infatuated with her; upon discovering her secret, Matt initially reacts with repulsion but attempts to comprehend and compete with her preferences by engaging in intense sexual acts with her in the forest burial site and even trying intercourse with a female corpse, which he finds distressing.^[4] Struggling to accept Sandra's inclinations, Matt simulates death by self-inflicted wounds during intimacy in a bid to satisfy her, but ultimately hangs himself, leaving a note requesting that she embalm his body.^[4] Sandra fulfills his wish, performing the embalming and a final necrophilic act with his corpse, after which she buries him in the forest alongside her childhood animal graves, reaffirming her commitment to her desires.^[4] The narrative, adapted from Barbara Gowdy's short story "We So Seldom Look on Love," centers on these events without delving into interpretive themes.^[6]

Cast

Principal roles

Molly Parker stars as Sandra Larson, the central character drawn to the preparation of deceased bodies for burial. This performance represented Parker's debut in a leading theatrical role and her breakthrough in feature films.^[7] Peter Outerbridge appears as Matt, Sandra's boyfriend and primary living romantic partner.^[8] Jay Brazeau plays Mr. Wallis, the owner of the funeral home where Sandra gains employment.^[8] Natasha Morley portrays young Sandra, depicting the character's experiences during her teenage years.^[8]

Production

Concept and development

Kissed originated as an adaptation of Barbara Gowdy's short story "We So Seldom Look on Love," first published in 1992 within her collection of the same title.^[9] The narrative centers on a young woman's affinity for death evolving into necrophilia, explored through her work as an embalmer.^[10] Director Lynne Stopkewich initiated development of the film during her graduate studies in the film program at the University of British Columbia, where it served as her thesis project.^[11] The first draft of the screenplay was completed in July 1994, with Stopkewich aiming to translate the story's introspective portrayal of the protagonist's motivations into a feature-length script.^[12] Stopkewich collaborated with Angus Fraser on the screenplay, expanding the source material while preserving its focus on the character's internal experiences rather than sensationalism.^[9] Their approach emphasized factual depiction of embalming procedures and the protagonist's perspective, informed by the story's empathetic lens on paraphilic behavior, culminating in the film's completion as Stopkewich's Master's thesis in 1996.^[11]^[2]

Pre-production and financing

Kissed originated as director Lynne Stopkewich's Master of Fine Arts thesis project at the University of British Columbia, conceived without initial plans for theatrical distribution and leveraging university equipment and student crew to manage expenses.^[13]^[14] The screenplay, co-written by Stopkewich and Angus Fraser, adapted Barbara Gowdy's 1992 short story "We So Seldom Look on Love," with revisions streamlining the narrative by excising non-essential scenes, such as additional family interactions, to align with limited resources.^[14]^[15] Financing relied on modest personal investments from family and friends, totaling around $80,000, underscoring the financial precarity of independent Canadian filmmaking where public grants were unavailable pre-production.^[16]^[14] Stopkewich, drawing from her production design experience, prioritized logistical efficiency, including targeted casting—such as selecting Molly Parker for the lead after she auditioned—and research into necrophilic tendencies and funeral practices to ground the script's portrayal of embalming and mortuary work in realistic detail without sensationalism.^[15]^[14] These constraints shaped a restrained approach, emphasizing character-driven authenticity over expansive sets or effects, though the production incurred debts through the incorporated Boneyard Film entity to sustain preparations amid independent cinema's inherent funding hurdles.^[17] Script adjustments specifically tempered erotic content to maintain psychological realism, positioning the protagonist as an active subject rather than a passive figure, thereby mitigating risks of perceived gratuitousness.^[15]

Filming

Principal photography for Kissed took place primarily in Vancouver, British Columbia, during 1995, as director Lynne Stopkewich completed the film as her Master's thesis at the University of British Columbia.^[13] The production adopted a guerrilla filmmaking approach suited to its micro-budget, funded initially by family and friends, with a student crew utilizing university equipment.^[14] ^[13] Filming locations included Maple Ridge Cemetery in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, for exterior death-related sequences, while interior morgue and funeral home scenes were staged using sets constructed across five different configurations in a single building with intermittent vacancy.^[18] ^[13] Local funeral homes were not directly used for principal scenes, with the production prioritizing controlled studio-like setups to manage sensitive depictions of embalming and intimate acts.^[13] Technical execution emphasized resourcefulness, such as substituting a wheelchair for a camera dolly, and avoided daily rushes, with the crew reviewing footage only three months post-shoot after additional National Film Board financing.^[13] Cinematographer Gregory Middleton applied flooding light in pivotal sequences to blend actors' pale complexions into near-white-outs, enhancing visual motifs of transcendence without relying on natural lighting.^[13] Challenges arose in portraying embalming and necrophilic encounters realistically yet ethically, addressed through a non-judgmental lens focused on character psychology, using simulations with consenting actors positioned as motionless bodies to maintain intimacy and avoid gratuitous effects.^[13]

Casting process

Molly Parker was cast as Sandra Larson after a cinematographer friend recommended her for the lead role in the low-budget independent film. Intrigued by the script's depiction of a necrophiliac's inner life, she met director Lynne Stopkewich and formed an immediate connection, leading to her selection for the part that required conveying vulnerability and conviction in the character's unconventional desires.^[19] Auditions took place in August 1994 in Vancouver, drawing significant interest as rumors of the film's taboo subject matter—necrophilia—spread, resulting in curious individuals attempting to crash the sessions.^[17] Peter Outerbridge was chosen for the role of Matt, Sandra's boyfriend, to provide a contrast of conventional masculinity against the protagonist's deviance; his prior work in Canadian films like The Michelle Apartments informed the decision.^[17] The production emphasized Canadian performers, including supporting actors Jay Brazeau and Natasha Morley, to leverage domestic talent pools and align with funding structures for independent Canadian cinema amid the film's limited budget and provocative theme, which posed logistical challenges in attracting committed participants.^[17]

Themes and interpretations

Necrophilia as paraphilia

Necrophilia constitutes a persistent, intense sexual attraction to corpses, categorized in the DSM-5 under other specified paraphilic disorder when the arousal pattern leads to distress, interpersonal difficulty, or actions involving nonconsenting persons (such as the deceased).^[20]^[21] The diagnostic threshold distinguishes mere paraphilic interest from disorder, requiring evidence of harm or impairment over a period of at least six months.^[22] In Kissed (1996), the protagonist's necrophilic acts are depicted as a deliberate, affectionate ritual with embalmed bodies, narrated through her perspective as an expression of love transcending death, which elides the clinical nonviability of consent once somatic functions cease.^[23] This portrayal frames the behavior as ego-syntonic and non-pathological for the character, diverging from DSM criteria by omitting depicted distress or functional interference. Prevalence data from forensic and psychiatric reviews indicate necrophilia occurs rarely, with documented cases comprising under 8% of sexual homicide samples and no population-level surveys estimating incidence above trace levels, often below 1% extrapolation from clinical reports.^[24] Associated psychological profiles frequently include early trauma histories, such as childhood abuse or neglect, and traits overlapping with cluster B personality disorders like antisocial or borderline patterns, potentially mediating avoidance of living partners due to rejection fears.^[25]^[26] The film's aestheticization of necrophilic contact overlooks empirical risks, including bacterial and viral transmissions from cadavers—such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, hepatitis B/C, or HIV—exacerbated by decomposition processes releasing pathogens, as noted in occupational health guidelines for handling remains.^[27] Legally, post-mortem consent is impossible, rendering such acts nonconsensual by definition and prosecutable under statutes prohibiting corpse desecration, with penalties up to life imprisonment in jurisdictions like Pakistan.^[28]

Psychological origins and motivations

In the film Kissed, protagonist Sandra Larson's affinity for the deceased traces to her childhood rituals involving the discovery and ceremonial burial of dead animals, which foster an early association between mortality and intimate sensory experiences. This sequence aligns with principles of classical conditioning, wherein repeated exposure to death stimuli—such as the stillness and coolness of animal corpses—pairs with emerging sexual curiosity, potentially imprinting arousal on inert forms over time. Forensic psychology literature supports such mechanisms in paraphilic development, where initial neutral or traumatic encounters evolve into conditioned preferences through reinforcement in isolated environments.^[29] Empirical studies of necrophilia identify core motivations rooted in evasion of interpersonal dynamics inherent to living partners, including fear of rejection, emotional reciprocity demands, and vulnerability to abandonment. A review of 122 documented cases reveals that the predominant drive is possession of an "unresisting and unrejecting" object, often compounded by occupational access to cadavers, as seen in mortuary workers or gravediggers who select roles facilitating fantasy enactment. Antisocial personality traits and histories of social withdrawal further causalize this pattern, with offenders exhibiting avoidance of mutual intimacy due to underlying attachment disruptions or low self-esteem exacerbated by environmental stressors like isolation.^[30]^[31] While Kissed intimates an innate or transcendent predisposition in Sandra's unwavering pursuit, verifiable evidence prioritizes environmental and neurodevelopmental origins over genetic determinism. Paraphilias like necrophilia typically manifest through interactions of early conditioning with situational triggers, such as chronic loneliness or trauma, rather than isolated biological imperatives; familial clustering, when observed, implicates shared intrafamilial learning over heritability alone. Historical cases, including Ed Gein's grave desecrations and body part collections, exemplify this: Gein's reclusive upbringing under a domineering mother instilled profound isolation and maternal fixation, channeling unmet relational needs into postmortem fantasies without evidence of predestined biology. Transition to overt acts in such profiles hinges on cumulative psychosocial pressures, underscoring learned maladaptations over mysticism.^[32]^[33]^[34]

Ethical and moral dimensions

The portrayal of necrophilia in Kissed raises traditional ethical concerns regarding the desecration of human remains, which many legal and moral frameworks view as a profound violation of the deceased's dignity. In common law traditions, corpses are treated as quasi-property, granting next of kin limited custodial rights to ensure respectful disposition, such as burial or cremation, rather than permitting exploitation for personal gratification.^[35]^[36] This status reflects a societal consensus that post-mortem bodily integrity merits protection, prohibiting acts that profane the dead and disrupt communal rituals of mourning. From a deontological standpoint, such acts inherently disrespect the finality of death, treating the corpse as an object devoid of the reverence owed to what was once a person, irrespective of the absence of direct harm to the living deceased.^[37] Consequentialist analyses highlight potential societal harms from depictions like those in Kissed, including desensitization to taboos surrounding death and corpse violation. Empirical media effects research demonstrates that repeated exposure to violent or transgressive content can reduce emotional arousal and empathy toward real-world equivalents, fostering tolerance for behaviors once universally condemned.^[38]^[39] Analogously, normalizing necrophilic acts through sympathetic cinematic narratives risks eroding inhibitions against corpse desecration, potentially increasing incidents or diminishing public outrage, as observed in broader patterns of taboo habituation via mass media.^[40] Critiques from conservative perspectives argue that the film undermines familial grief processes by aestheticizing exploitation of the dead, prioritizing individual deviance over collective moral norms that safeguard vulnerability after loss.^[37] Liberal defenses invoke artistic liberty to explore human extremes, yet concede risks to impressionable audiences, such as reinforcement of maladaptive fixations without therapeutic intent. Fundamentally, death's irreversibility eliminates reciprocal agency, rendering any purported "relation" unilateral and thus exploitative, as the corpse cannot consent or benefit, stripping acts of mutuality essential to ethical intimacy.^[41]

Controversies

Festival reactions and censorship debates

Kissed premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 1996, where it generated significant controversy due to its explicit depiction of necrophilia, dividing audiences and sparking discussions on the boundaries of cinematic representation.^[9] The film's provocative subject matter, centered on protagonist Sandra's intimate encounters with corpses, elicited strong reactions, with festival-goers reportedly stunned by scenes such as the embalming sequence, though specific accounts of walkouts or physical distress like nausea remain anecdotal and unverified in primary reports.^[2] Despite the shock value, the screening ignited a bidding war for U.S. distribution rights, highlighting commercial interest amid the debate.^[42] The film's momentum carried into its Sundance Film Festival screening in January 1997, reinforcing its status as one of the most contentious entries at both events, with focus shifting to director Lynne Stopkewich's ability to evoke sympathy for the lead character rather than mere revulsion.^[2] Critics and attendees grappled with the unconventional narrative, praising its poetic restraint while questioning its marketability, as the necrophilic theme posed unique challenges for broader release.^[9] Censorship debates emerged primarily around classification rather than outright bans, with the Motion Picture Association of America assigning an R rating for "aberrant sexuality and some language," reflecting concerns over the film's adult content without prohibiting distribution.^[43] In Canada, provincial ratings varied, such as 14A in Alberta, allowing access to mature teens under guidance, though some reviewers anticipated hurdles from moral guardians due to the taboo subject, ultimately unsubstantiated by organized campaigns.^[12] These discussions underscored tensions between artistic freedom and societal discomfort, yet the film's festival success demonstrated tolerance for boundary-pushing cinema when framed through psychological nuance rather than exploitation.^[2]

Societal and psychological critiques

Critics from conservative perspectives have argued that depictions of necrophilia in films like Kissed risk glamorizing deviant behaviors, potentially influencing vulnerable audiences through mechanisms akin to social learning theory, where modeled actions are imitated without regard for real-world consequences.^[44] This concern surfaced in British censorship debates, where outlets like the Daily Mail criticized regulators for approving Kissed amid broader worries over media's role in desensitizing viewers to taboos, echoing fears that artistic portrayals could erode traditional sexual ethics by presenting pathology as romantic.^[44]^[45] Psychologically, some experts caution that romanticizing necrophilia, as in Kissed's empathetic lens, may conflate atypical grief responses with untreated paraphilic disorders, diverging from evidence-based therapies that emphasize behavioral intervention over acceptance.^[46] Necrophilia, classified as a rare paraphilia, shows comorbidity with violent outcomes in subsets of cases; for instance, up to 80% of sexual murderers exhibit paraphilic histories, including necrophilic elements, underscoring risks of non-judgmental framing that overlooks causal links to harm.^[47] While the film has been used in psychiatric education to discuss taboo attractions delicately, detractors contend this approach excuses underlying motivations tied to trauma or antisocial traits, contra empirical data prioritizing risk assessment.^[46]^[24] Feminist interpretations vary, with some viewing the protagonist's agency in necrophilic acts as subverting gender norms by asserting female dominance in erotic contexts traditionally male-dominated, challenging objectification through active pursuit.^[48] Others highlight tensions in gender dynamics, where male characters' attempts to "possess" the female lead underscore patriarchal expectations, positioning the film as a critique of men's need for total relational control.^[13] These readings counterbalance claims of transcendence, as articulated by Roger Ebert, who praised Kissed for elevating necrophilia to spiritual metaphor, yet empirical evidence on paraphilias' links to violence tempers assertions of harmless artistic merit.^[2]^[47]

Release and distribution

Premiere and theatrical run

Kissed premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 1996, marking its debut screening before a wider audience.^[49] The film subsequently appeared at additional festivals, including the Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival on September 21, 1996, which contributed to building interest among distributors despite its unconventional subject matter.^[49] Following festival exposure, the film received a limited theatrical release in Canada in late 1996. In the United States, it opened on April 11, 1997, distributed by The Samuel Goldwyn Company across eight screens, generating $37,100 in its initial three-day weekend.^[50] The U.S. run achieved a total gross of $465,400, sustained modestly through word-of-mouth attendance rather than broad commercial appeal.^[3] Internationally, Kissed screened at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1997 and secured a theatrical release in Germany on November 20, 1997. No widespread bans were reported, though availability remained constrained in conservative markets due to content sensitivities.^[49]

Home media and availability

The film received a home video release on VHS in 1998 by an independent distributor targeting North American markets.^[51] A DVD edition, featuring the original 78-minute runtime in a standard keep case with 16 chapter stops, was issued on March 12, 2007, primarily through specialty labels catering to cult and arthouse titles.^[52] No official Blu-ray Disc version has been produced, reflecting the limited commercial appeal of the independent Canadian production.^[53] As of October 2025, Kissed is unavailable for streaming with subscription services, ad-supported platforms, digital rental, or purchase in the United States, following its last documented access on Amazon Video in September 2022.^[54] Physical media persists via secondary retailers, out-of-print stock, and manufacturer-on-demand DVDs from studios like MGM, which reprinted copies as late as 2015.^[55] The absence of major restorations or re-releases underscores challenges in preserving niche erotic dramas from 1990s Canadian cinema, with no verified archival efforts by national film boards or festivals post-original distribution.^[49]

Reception

Critical reviews

Kissed received mixed reviews from critics, with an approval rating of 67% on Rotten Tomatoes aggregated from 21 reviews, reflecting a divide between arthouse appreciation for its unconventional exploration and broader discomfort with its subject matter.^[3] Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars in his April 18, 1997, review, commending director Lynne Stopkewich for approaching necrophilia through themes of spirituality and transcendence rather than exploitation, and highlighting Molly Parker's "grave intensity" that fosters sympathy for protagonist Sandra, portraying her acts as "something like a sacrament" in her psyche.^[2] The New York Times praised the film's "delicacy and lyricism" in handling Sandra's erotic attraction to corpses, underscoring the tragedy beneath what might otherwise invite snickering, though it emphasized the inherent challenges of the premise.^[56] Variety, in its September 16, 1996, assessment, lauded Stopkewich's impressive debut and the early sections' engrossing portrait of obsession but critiqued the final 20 minutes for lacking dramatic force, rendering the overall narrative somewhat slight.^[9] Conservative-leaning outlets expressed stronger reservations; the Deseret News, reviewing on May 9, 1997, described the film as ultimately "sick, disturbing, and disgusting" despite its matter-of-fact earnestness and Parker's engaging performance, faulting its nonjudgmental tone for exploiting the subject unsavorily and questioning the necessity of producing such material, which it saw as veering into pretentious camp.^[57] This highlighted a broader critique from some reviewers that the movie prioritized shock value and moral relativism over substantive condemnation of abnormality, contrasting with acclaim from festivals like Sundance where its non-revulsive tenderness drew positive responses.^[2]

Awards recognition

Kissed garnered notable accolades in Canadian cinema, most prominently at the 18th Genie Awards in 1997, where it received eight nominations including for Best Motion Picture, Best Achievement in Direction (Lynne Stopkewich), Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Molly Parker), Best Screenplay (Stopkewich and Angus Fraser), and Best Cinematography (Greg Middelton). The film won the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, presented to Molly Parker for her role as Sandra Larson.^[58]^[59]^[60] At the international level, Kissed was nominated for the Golden Camera at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, an award recognizing debut feature films. Domestically, it earned the Best Canadian Feature Film - Special Jury Citation at the 1996 Vancouver International Film Festival, underscoring its impact within independent Canadian production. These honors elevated Stopkewich's profile as a director while highlighting technical strengths in areas such as cinematography, though mainstream crossover remained constrained by the film's provocative themes.^[61]^[61]

Long-term cultural impact

Kissed has been referenced in film studies as a pioneering example of indie cinema confronting necrophilia, influencing discussions on the ethical representation of paraphilias by prioritizing spiritual and romantic framing over graphic horror. Academic analyses, such as a 2020 study examining female necrophilia as a form of dominance, position the film alongside works like Nekromantik to explore power dynamics and taboo transgression, though critics note its avoidance of explicit visuals dilutes clinical realism in favor of aesthetic transcendence.^[48]^[62] This approach contributed to broader Canadian indie notoriety in the 1990s, paralleling films like Crash (1996) in challenging societal boundaries on deviant sexuality without evidence of causal escalation in real-world paraphilic behaviors, as psychological literature attributes such disorders to innate or early developmental factors rather than media exposure.^[63] In societal discourse, the film's legacy includes sparking examinations of media's role in normalizing or critiquing paraphilias, yet empirical data from forensic and psychiatric reviews show no correlation between cinematic depictions and increased necrophilic incidence rates, which remain rare at approximately 0.1-1% in offender populations per case studies.^[64] It has informed indie explorations of taboos, cited in retrospectives on boundary-pushing narratives, though without direct emulation in later works like Shortbus (2006), which focused on consensual sexual variances rather than postmortem acts. Modern reappraisals, such as a 2020 reflection framing it as a feminist assertion of female autonomy amid possessive male dynamics, contrast with 2021 critiques viewing its romanticization of necrophilia as dated, lacking diagnostic depth on underlying disorders and relying on era-specific indie tropes like overt narration and symbolic metaphors.^[13]^[65] These perspectives highlight a shift toward greater psychological rigor in contemporary analyses, positioning Kissed as a culturally provocative artifact that endures in academic syllabi on erotic cinema ethics but faces scrutiny for prioritizing emotional empathy over causal explanations of paraphilic etiology.^[66]

Soundtrack

Musical composition

The original score for Kissed was composed by Don MacDonald, who also arranged, produced, and provided vocals for the cues.^[8]^[67] Recorded by Nettwerk Records, it consists of brief instrumental tracks such as "Bird In Hand" (0:30) and "Ambulance" (0:41), integrated with ethereal vocal elements to create a haunting atmosphere aligned with the film's deliberate pacing and emotional restraint.^[68]^[9] These choices prioritize subtlety, using sparse motifs to heighten introspection without dominating the visuals or dialogue.^[9] MacDonald's process tailored the score to the director Lynne Stopkewich's vision, drawing on vocal layering for an otherworldly quality that evokes ritualistic serenity amid isolation, as evidenced by the cues' minimal orchestration and ambient-like restraint.^[9]^[67] No external licensing was involved, with all original elements developed in-house for the production.^[8] The score earned a Genie Award nomination for Best Original Score in 1997, recognizing its effective mood enhancement.^[67]

Notable tracks

The original score for Kissed prominently features instrumental cues composed by Don MacDonald, emphasizing minimalist acoustic arrangements that highlight the film's themes of intimacy and mortality without overpowering the narrative. The main title track, "Bird In Hand," opens the soundtrack with a brief, serene melody incorporating subtle string and woodwind elements, setting a tone of ethereal detachment recorded during principal scoring sessions in Vancouver.^[69]^[67] "Ambulance," another key original cue by MacDonald, underscores a tense sequence involving emergency response with restrained percussion and dissonant harmonies, lasting under a minute and contributing to the score's overall sparse, atmospheric quality.^[68]^[70] Licensed songs provide limited diegetic and transitional support, including "Far Out" by Ginger, an indie rock track with driving guitar riffs that contrasts the score's subtlety during moments of relational friction.^[69] Similarly, "Locked In A Room" by The Ids adds punk-inflected energy to underscore emotional confinement.^[71] The 1997 soundtrack album, issued by Unforscene Music and compiling MacDonald's cues alongside these tracks, runs approximately 50 minutes but saw no notable chart performance or widespread commercial release beyond niche indie distribution.^[72]^[73]

References

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Kissed (1996) - IMDb
Rating 6.4/10 (4,155) Kissed is a beautiful story about a young woman named Sandra who explores death through necrophilia. When Matt, a fellow student she becomes romantically ...Parents guide · Full cast & crew · Plot · Quotes
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Rating 3/4 · Review by Roger Ebert"Kissed" is about a necrophiliac, but in its approach, it could be about spirituality or transcendence.
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Rating 67% (21) Teenager Sandra (Molly Parker) is obsessed with death, so much so that after wandering into a funeral home she wishes to be a mortician.
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KISSED · As a college student Sandra decides to study embalming, and as a result she quits her job for a florist and secures a job at Wallis' funeral parlor.Missing: plot summary -
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It was "Kissed" that set Molly's career into overdrive. A friend got her an audition for the low-budget independent feature film, and she hit if off with the ...Missing: process | Show results with:process
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Cast ; Molly Parker · Sandra ; Peter Outerbridge · Matt. /Sandra's boyfriend ; Jay Brazeau · Mr. Wallis ; Natasha Morley · Sandra. /teenager ; Jessie Winter Mudie · Carol.Missing: principal roles
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Sep 16, 1996 · Directed byLynne Stopkewich. Screenplay, Stopkewich, Angus Fraser, based on the story "We So Seldom Look on Love" by Barbara Gowdy. Crew: Camera ...
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Mar 17, 1999 · Director – Lynne Stopkewich, Screenplay – Lynne Stopkewich & Angus Fraser, Based on the Short Story We So Seldom Look on Love (1992) by Barbara ...
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Dec 6, 2007 · Lynne Stopkewich. Director, Producer, Writer. Developed as part of her UBC graduate film program thesis, Kissed debuted at the 1996 Toronto ...
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Based on Barbara Gowdy's short story "We So Seldom Look On Love", Kissed tells the offbeat and unlikely story of Sandra (Molly Parker, who won the Genie ...
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all women — to belong to themselves first, and ...
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Basically the film was funded with money from family and friends. I was a film student out of UBC (University of British Columbia) in Vancouver, and so ...Missing: Telefilm | Show results with:Telefilm
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September 1996: Kissed – which comes in 'under $1 million' – is released to festival circuits and markets. The film premiers in the Perspective Canada series at ...
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Peter Outerbridge and Molly Parker in Kissed (1996). Filming & production. Kissed. Jump to. Filming locations (2), Production dates (1). Edit. Filming locations.
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The film was Kissed, about a woman who is a necrophiliac. Intrigued, she agreed to meet with the director, Lynne Stopkewich. The two hit it off immediately and ...Missing: process | Show results with:process
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Jun 1, 2014 · In contrast, DSM-5 redefines the term paraphilia so that it now refers to a persistent, intense, atypical sexual arousal pattern, independent of ...
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Kissed (1996) is a serious film that portrays the disturbing and taboo issue of necrophilia in a delicate and viewer friendly way. Being a rare paraphilia, ...<|control11|><|separator|>
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The following case vignettes illustrate these four categories. 1. Genuine Necrophilia. A. Necrophilic Homicide A 25- year-old, single white male college senior.
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[PDF] Unearthing the Origins of Quasi-Property Status
Nov 4, 2020 · Similarly, new uses for human remains challenge the notion of bodies awaiting burial referenced in the common law discourse on quasi-property.
[37]
The Law and Human Remains .
Eventually, under American common law, a quasi-property right was established. Essentially, the “next of kin” have a limited property right in the remains of a ...
[38]
[PDF] Defiling the Dead: Necrophilia and the Law
spread horror at corpse desecration.28 "In our society, we treat the dead with dignity and respect"; violation of that respect "goes against the basic mores ...
[39]
Desensitization to Media Violence: Links With Habitual Media ... - NIH
This study examined the links between desensitization to violent media stimuli and habitual media violence exposure as a predictor and aggressive cognitions ...
[40]
Violence in the media: Psychologists study potential harmful effects
Nov 1, 2013 · Other research has found that exposure to media violence can desensitize people to violence in the real world and that, for some people, ...
[41]
Sex with corpses might be philosophically cool. But it's still not a ...
Jul 7, 2014 · ” Specifically, the end of the taboos against incest and desecration of the dead would imply a different constitution of the human, perhaps ...
[42]
Is necrophilia morally objectionable? I was under ... - Ask Philosophers
Jun 17, 2021 · The more primordial objection to necrophelia is that most of us see the good of sexual intimacy as the loving union of two persons.
[43]
Kissed (1996) - News - IMDb
40uR Short Film: "Four witches cast a spell that goes... exactly right" Directed by: Charles Chudabala Starring: Jennifer Nangle, Erica Curry, Alex Hogy ...
[44]
Parents guide - Kissed (1996) - IMDb
Motion Picture Rating (MPA). Rated R for aberrant sexuality and some language · Sex & Nudity: Severe · Violence & Gore: Moderate · Profanity: Mild · Alcohol, Drugs ...Missing: censorship debates
[45]
They know what's good for you | Movies | The Guardian
Mar 26, 1998 · The BBFC has been upsetting the Daily Mail a good deal. Natural Born Killers, Kids, Kissed and Crash would all have been consigned to the ...
[46]
[PDF] James Ferman at the British Board of Film Classification
May 1, 2017 · JF: Kissed took a long time, but that was in the wake of our new President, we knew that he was joining and we felt we had to, the two Vice- ...
[47]
Learning necrophilia in a psychiatry movie club - ScienceDirect
This paper describes the use of a film, Kissed (1996) to learn about necrophilia in a psychiatry movie club. However at the outset, it is emphasized that this ...
[48]
Paraphilias and paraphilic disorders: diagnosis, assessment and ...
Jan 2, 2018 · Mood and anxiety disorders are most prevalent and the presence of multiple paraphilias correlates with higher levels of psychiatric morbidity.
[49]
[PDF] Performing Necrophilia: Forms of Female Dominance in Kissed by ...
Jun 14, 2020 · Erich Fromm, on the other hand, classified necrophiliac instincts as opposed to biophilia; for this reason he maintained that necrophilia can-.
[50]
Kissed (1996) - Release info - IMDb
Cast & crew · External sites · Company credits · Filming & production · Tech specs. More to explore. Production art. List · The Best New and Upcoming Horror.
[51]
B.C. Scene: Kissed by success: Stopkewich film makes necrophilia ...
May 5, 1997 · That is us$4,600 per screen. By May 23, Kissed will be playing on 38 u.s. screens. In Canada, where Kissed opened on nine screens on April 11, ...
[52]
Kissed | VHSCollector.com
Dec 12, 2015 · Year of Release. Release Year. 1998. Country. United States ; Format Details. VHS | SP | Slipcase ; Running Time. 78 mins (NTSC) ; Audio / Screen / ...
[53]
Kissed - DVDBeaver
Theatrical Release: September 7, 1996 (Toronto Film Festival). Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews ... DVD Release Date: March 12, 2007. Keep Case. Chapters 16.
[54]
Kissed (1996) - Blu-ray.com
Rating 7.2/10 (16) Cross over into a world where life ends and true happiness begins, where the thrill of life is not in the living but in the transcendence into death.
[55]
Kissed streaming: where to watch movie online? - JustWatch
Find out how and where to watch "Kissed" online on Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+ today – including 4K and free options.
[56]
Kissed : Molly Parker, Peter Outerbridge, Jay Brazeau, Jessie Winter ...
30-day returnsA young man tries to help his girlfriend, who works at a funeral parlor, overcome necrophilia.
[57]
Kissed - The New York Times Web Archive
Apr 18, 1997 · Its vision of necrophilia is a little girl's storybook dream of communion with the great beyond given a grown-up erotic twist. Production Notes.
[58]
Film review: Kissed - Deseret News
May 9, 1997 · "Kissed" gives it a go, with a surprising, matter-of-fact earnestness. Not that the film is without humor. There are some amusing moments.
[59]
Special Report: The 1996 Genie Awards: The 1996 Genies nominees
Nov 4, 1996 · On Nov. 27, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television will pay tribute to the best on the screen at the 17th annual Genie Awards.
[60]
Canadian film review: Kissed
Sep 20, 2018 · This was Molly Parker's major breakthrough role and she masters this character as misunderstood with a secret she wants to keep secret. Her ...
[61]
Awards Given to Films by Canadian Women Directors -- femfilm.ca
Kissed (1996), Lynne Stopkewich · Genie Award: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Awarded to Molly Parker ; When the Dust Settles (1997), Louise ...
[62]
Awards - Kissed (1996) - IMDb
1997 Winner Genie. Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. Molly Parker · Peter Outerbridge in Kissed (1996) · 1997 Nominee Genie.
[63]
Necrophilic Art: “Kissed” and “Aftermath” - Offscreen
Both the Canadian Kissed and Spanish Aftermath deal with the taboo subject of necrophilia. However, the respective filmmakers Lynne Stopkewich and Nacho ...Missing: directors | Show results with:directors
[64]
Understanding and Managing Compulsive Sexual Behaviors - NIH
There are many other forms of paraphilias that are not listed in DSM-IV (e.g., gerontophilia, necrophilia, zoophilia) that exist but have not been yet ...
[65]
[PDF] Necrophilic Crime Scene Behaviors in the Context of Sexual Homicide
Nov 14, 2022 · Thus, the study aims to contribute to the limited empirical literature permitting to better understand how necrophilia is expressed in homicide ...
[66]
The Outskirts: Kissed (1996) | Screen Slate
Jul 7, 2021 · A young woman, transfixed by death, takes a job at a morgue and starts having sex with male corpses.
[67]
The Last Taboo: Necrophilia in Kissed and Nekromantik - Offscreen
Colin Arason looks at one of cinema's great taboos, the representation of necrophilia, and how two films, the Canadian Kissed and the German Nekromantik, ...
[68]
Music for Film – DON MACDONALD
Camera Shy – Feature Film • Leo Award for Best Feature Film Soundtrack ; Kissed – Feature Film – Drama• Distributed by MGM• Genie Nomination for “Best Original ...
[69]
Kissed (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Spotify
Kissed (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). Various Artists. 200918 songs ... Don MacDonald · Locked In A Room · The Ids · This Time · Suzanne Little · Opening ...
[70]
https://www.moviemusic.com/soundtrack/M00899/kissed/
[71]
Kissed Soundtrack (1996) - MovieMusic.com
$$3.49 deliveryTracklisting. 1. Bird In Hand [0:30]. 2. Far Out - Ginger [3:35]. 3. Ambulance [0:41]. 4. Locked In A Room - The Ids [2:36].Missing: details | Show results with:details<|separator|>
[72]
Kissed Soundtrack - SoundtrackINFO
Bird In Hand [0:30]. 2. Far Out - Ginger [3:35]. 3. Ambulance [0:41]. 4. Locked In A Room - The Ids [2:36]. 5. This Time - Suzanne Little [4:05].Missing: details | Show results with:details
[73]
https://www.amazon.com/Kissed-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack-Enhanced/dp/B000005DDK
[74]
Kissed - Amazon.com Music
30-day returns1, Bird In Hand - Don MacDonald. 2, Far Out - ginger. 3, Ambulance - Don MacDonald. 4, Locked In A Room - The ids. 5, This Time - Suzanne Little.Missing: score | Show results with:score