He Never Died Movie Review

He Never Died (2015)

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Written by: Jason Krawczyk
Directed by: Jason Krawczyk
Starring: Henry Rollins, Booboo Stewart, Kate Greenhouse
Rated: R
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Plot
Jack just wants to be left alone to play bingo and eat at a diner, but low level mafia thugs just won't leave him alone. That and bullets don't seem to have any affect on him.

Verdict
The movie creates an enigma in Jack and my concern was whether it would pay off. Is he a fallen angel, crazy, or a demon? Parts of the mystery are introduced just to misdirect us, but the ending, though underwhelming, is pretty good. The concept is excellent.
It depends.

Review
One of the first shots shows Jack (Henry Rollins) with scars on his back, which made me wonder if he was a fallen angel with wings removed. Ultimately that's not the case, so I don't know why he has those scars or why the movie poster depicts him with angel wings.
Jack doesn't know how or just doesn't want to interact with people. Did he die, come back, and in the process forget everything? He interacts with a woman that claims to have birthed his daughter and he seems to hardly remember her

With that introduction this could be a really interesting movie or really bad. The slow build up and ending is adequate, and at least it doesn't undercut the movie.
We slowly realize that Jack's simple life is built around subduing his cravings. I like how the movie doesn't convey this through exposition. It's slowly realized as we see Jack live each day of his life.

He Never Died - Intriguing concept, competent movie.

Low level mafia guys start antagonizing Jack, but he can handle himself, subduing them more than once. It turns out Jack used to be a mafia enforcer. While it doesn't seem like it was that long ago, Jack seems to barely remember it.

Does blood help him heal? Is he reincarnated? Thankfully these questions are answered. There is a sequence where Jack is looking for someone that will voluntarily beat him up. He accosts a few rough looking people who turn out to be quite cordial. It's a darkly comedic sequence. All of Jack's interactions are borderline comedic. He doesn't care about anybody and has no time for small talk.

The big reveal is that Jack is Cain from the bible. The same Cain, the first murderer, that killed Abel. Cain was doomed to wander the Earth for eternity as a monster that craved blood. Cain never died.

This answers a lot of questions, though not the angel wings. Living forever is a curse. If you've lived for thousands of years I imagine all the events could run together. That's why he doesn't remember much. He can't die and he just tries to control his cravings. I really like this depiction of immortality.