By 
“There is no land. There is no God. There is no house. There is nothing.”
DEATH HAS NO MASTER (La muerte no tiene dueño) follows an heiress to a colonial cacao plantation in Venezuela. After the death of her father, Caro (Asia Argento) travels from Italy to Venezuela to sell her childhood home. Upon arriving, she discovers it occupied by Sonia (Dogreika Tovar), a former employee, and her young son, Maiko (Yermain Sequera).
Initially sympathetic to them, Caro initially agrees to share the house – but tensions start to boil over when she discovers Sonia has also been illegally subletting rooms and Caro succumbs to her own greed, absorbing the dark and violent legacy of the plantation.
Written, directed, and produced by Jorge Thielen Armand, DEATH HAS NO MATTER is saturated with stunning visuals and surreal foreboding. As Caro walks up to her father’s once grand and now crumbling estate, you feel the spectre of her dead father looming over her and as the film goes on, you see how his spirit starts to live within her.
Argento delivers a layered performance of desperation and regret, with Tovar providing strength and courage as she tries to stand up to Caro; the true outsider of this film. The story beautifully captures the horror of slavery, and colonization with a slow-burn build to a bloody, gruesome conclusion.
It’s a fascinating look at Venezuelan colonialism, capitalism, and history that doesn’t neatly fit into the horror genre, but still delivers a haunting message that will have you thinking about it long after the credits roll.
DEATH HAS NO MASTER is currently playing at Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX.
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