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Kissed poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Lynne Stopkewich
Produced by Dean English
Lynne Stopkewich
Written by Angus Fraser
Lynne Stopkewich
Barbara Gowdy
(short story)
Starring Molly Parker
Peter Outerbridge
Jay Brazeau
Natasha Morley
Music by Don MacDonald
Cinematography Gregory Middleton
Edited by John Pozer
Peter Roeck
Lynne Stopkewich
Distributed by MGM
Release date(s) September 7, 1996 (Tor. Film Fest.)
Running time 88 minutes
Country Canada
Language English





As far back as Sandra Larson (Parker) can remember, she has been fascinated by death. As a child, she dances with the corpses of animals at night, rubbing them on her body, before giving them a funeral. She performs this dance in front of her only friend, a girl named Carol (Jessie Winter Mudie), who ends their friendship soon afterward.

In college, Sandra studies biology, carefully dissecting the bodies of small animals, trying to avoid disfiguring them. She gets a job at a funeral home to be closer to dead bodies. The funeral home's janitor Jan (James Timmons) believes, like Sandra, that dead bodies still have a soul in them. While driving the hearse with a body in a coffin in the back through a car wash, Sandra looks at the body and finds a shining light, believing that body's soul is alive somewhere.

Mr. Wallis apprentices Sandra in embalming. She starts studying mortuary science, where she meets a medical student named Matt (Peter Outerbridge) who also must study corpses for his major. Matt and Sandra begin to date, and Matt is intrigued by Sandra’s death fascination. Occasionally they spend nights together in Matt's basement apartment, but Sandra always leaves for late night visits to the mortuary to celebrate the dead bodies of young men with dance ceremonies which escalate into necrophilia.

Matt becomes distraught when he discovers that he is competing with dead bodies. He tries unsuccessfully to get Sandra to talk about her necrophilia, so he starts visiting her at the funeral home, which upsets her. Matt has to go to an extreme to win Sandra’s heart, as she struggles with choosing between the living or the dead, with tragic results.



At the Sundance Film Festival, director Lynne Stopkewich stated she read the original story, "We So Seldom Look on Love" by Barbara Gowdy in a book of erotica for women.[2]


Roger Ebert described the film as "one of the most controversial films at the Toronto and Sundance festivals." and gave the film a three-star review noting that the film "is about a necrophiliac, but in its approach, it could be about spirituality or transcendence."[2] The New York Times noted that "it would be easy to snicker at this Canadian film, were its subject not handled with a delicacy and lyricism that underscore the mystical rather than gruesome aspects of what Sandra coolly acknowledges is a consuming addiction."[3]

The AV Club stated that "There's much of interest here, and though it's rare and refreshing to find a film that genuinely tries to address the subject of death directly, Kissed is likely to leave its audience as cold as the objects of its heroine's desire."[4]


Ceremony Category Name Outcome
18th Genie Awards[5]
Best Motion Picture Dean English, Lynne Stopkewich Nominated
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Peter Outerbridge Nominated
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Molly Parker Won
Achievement in Direction Lynne Stopkewich Nominated
Original Screenplay Angus Fraser, Lynne Stopkewich Nominated
Achievement in Cinematography Gregory Middleton Nominated
Achievement in Music/Original Score Don MacDonald Nominated
Achievement in Music/Original Song Kristy Lee Thirsk Nominated


  1. ^ Kalli Paakspuu, "Lynne Stopkewich: Abject Sexualities" Great Canadian Film Directors, ed. George Melnyk. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press (2007): 394
  2. ^ a b Ebert, Roger (April 25, 1997). "Kissed". Retrieved May 12, 2014. 
  3. ^ Holden, Stephen (April 18, 1997). "Kissed". New York Times. Retrieved May 12, 2014. 
  4. ^ Phipps , Keith (March 29, 2002). "Kissed". AV Club. Retrieved May 12, 2014. 
  5. ^ "Canada's Award Database". Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Retrieved May 12, 2014. 

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