The Grim Reaper stalks Henry Fleetwood in “There is No God and We All Die Alone.”

Henry Fleetwood is, by his own standards, average. He is clever, but jaded—a gloomy fatalist. Besides his wit and weariness, he doesn't have much to remark upon. He has exhausted himself in searching for meaning in an existence made pointless by the inevitability of death, which he sees everywhere. Literally. He sees Death everywhere. Wherever Henry goes, black-robed, scythe-towing figures abound—riding on bicycles, lighting a woman's cigarette or getting down on the dance floor—but always robbing their unsuspecting targets of life with absurd nonchalance.

It is this absurdity that sets the tone of Ross Marian and Harrison Givens' "There is No God and We All Die Alone." The darkly comic film begins with the wacky, drawn-out, sudden death of a homeless man, sitting next to Henry on a bench. Only Henry, watching in silent awe mere inches away, and the viewer seem to notice this occurrence, after which Fleetwood introduces himself, directly addressing the audience. From this point on, the viewer gains access to Henry's bizarre perception of the world, shaped by his longing for meaning and his obsession with Death's ever-intrusive shenanigans.

The viewer learns about the events that have brought Henry to his depressing philosophy. A book, entitled "There is No God and We All Die Alone," by Robert Darkens (likely a play on the name of the popular atheist author, Richard Dawkins), has stripped him of his belief in any god, leaving him to search desperately for happiness by other means.

However, by the time of the viewer's introduction to Henry, the shock of his father's death has obliterated what little progress he has made. Teetering on the brink of giving up, he reaches out to his ex-girlfriend, Anita, who, with the aid of Derrick (her pet boy), attempts to pull Henry out of his slump.

Despite the heavy nature of its subject matter, Marian and Givens' efforts have resulted in a delightfully frenetic film that stimulates the mind, the heart, and the funny bone in just the right amounts. I laughed out loud, jumped in shock, and—almost—cried at the in-your-face and over-the-top display of cheek, slapstick, and cheese. All of these elements combine to address the question of meaning human experience:

"What's the point?"

Though each person may have a unique way of answering that question, there is something uniting in the fact that we must all decide how to do so.

"There is No God and We All Die Alone" screens at 7:20 p.m. April 4 on Screen C as part of the Shorts 1: Dark Comedy & Satire block.