Love Me Deadly

Lindsay Finch, an heiress from Los Angeles, makes a habit of attending wakes for men she never knew. When others leave, she kneels beside the coffins and kisses the corpses passionately. The living are of little interest to her, while the dead hold intense allure. This fixation frames the early part of her social world.

She daydreams about her deceased father and visits his grave in childlike rituals, even tying her hair in pigtails for the trips. These memories hint at a deep-seated trauma that will shape her adult life. The attachment to the grave becomes a central part of her emotional landscape.

Mortician Fred McSweeney watches Lindsay at the wakes and recognizes a kindred spirit. He operates a Satanic coven that meets after hours in the mortuary for necrophilic rituals. He quietly sets his sights on drawing Lindsay into his circle.

Fred's coven stages after-hours necrophilic rituals in the mortuary, demonstrating their control over mortality. He uses a coerced hustler to illustrate the group's willingness to embrace cruelty. The scene underscores the power dynamic at work between Fred and Lindsay.

Fred coaxs Lindsay to join the group, and she accepts, drawn by secrecy and taboo rather than affection for living people. Her participation marks a turning point toward the cult's dark rites. The line between tragedy and horror becomes increasingly blurred.

Wade Farrow secretly follows Lindsay to the funeral home and stumbles into the cult's activities. He is killed as the group is about to initiate a necrophilic act, marking the first violent consequence of Lindsay's circle. The event demonstrates the deadly seriousness of Fred's coven.

At a wake, Lindsay meets Alex Martin, the deceased's brother and an art gallery owner. An intense romance quickly develops between them, becoming Lindsay's first real relationship with someone living. The relationship pulls her toward a different kind of danger.

Lindsay and Alex marry, beginning a real relationship, but Lindsay cannot consummate the marriage. Alex is confused and frustrated by her emotional distance and the lack of intimacy. The mystery of her fixation deepens as their bond strains under the surface.

Alex grows suspicious after seeing Lindsay enter Fred's mortuary. A maid, Miss Pritchard, reveals Lindsay's unhealthy obsession with her dead father and her habit of visiting his grave daily. The domestic surface cracks as psychological pressure mounts.

Alex drives to the cemetery and finds Lindsay in a childlike state, frolicking around her father's grave. The moment startles her, and she flees in her car. The incident cements the growing estrangement between them.

The next day, Alex opens a registered letter from Fred's funeral parlor about a meeting that night. The missive foreshadows the convergence of Lindsay's two worlds. He grows increasingly uneasy about what he might uncover.

The couple plans to go into the country for dinner with Alex's family, but Lindsay claims to feel ill and keeps him at home. Instead, Alex heads toward the mortuary in a bid to confront Lindsay. The night thickens with looming revelations.

Alex arrives at Fred's mortuary and discovers Lindsay among the group preparing to engage with a male corpse. The moment marks the collapse of trust and the beginning of violent consequences. The horror escalates as the living confront the dead on Fred's terms.

Fred stabs Alex to death upon seeing him, a brutal act that ends Alex's life and destabilizes Lindsay's world. The killing acts as a trigger for the story's final twists and the destruction of any remaining safety nets. Lindsay is pulled deeper into the mortuary's dark orbit.

Lindsay is brought home, sedated, and told that Alex is waiting for her in the bedroom. She recalls accidentally shooting her father as a child, a moment that haunts her fate. She discovers Fred fondling Alex's corpse, and she kills Fred with a statue before lying down beside Alex.