#AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead, a title that hints at the movie’s dark and comedic tone, has quite the pedigree behind it. The director is Marcus Dunstan, the writer of Feast and the mind behind the very underrated The Collector/The Collection films. Josh Sims and Jessica Sarah Flaum, who has notably in Let’s Scare Julie, wrote the screenplay. The horror comedy stars up-and-comers Jade Pettyjohn, Julian Haig, and Cardi Wong, among others. Plus, popstar JoJo Siwa has a brief but very important role. Is the movie as fun as the cast and crew seem to promise it’ll be?
Sarah (Pettyjohn), Mona (Jennifer Ens), Will (Justin Derickson), Liv (Ali Fumiko Whitney), L.B. (Haig), Guy (Jack Doupe-Smith), and Aaron (Wong) are prepping for a weekend of music and partying as Karmapalooza is back after two decades. The reason for the massive concert going away for 20 years is due to attendees being killed according to which of the seven deadly sins they represented. But after all this time, the event promises to be a blast and the cannot-miss ticket of the year.
“…after imbibing in the alcohol, a person in an electronic mask begins killing the friends…”
As the college friends are driving to Karmapalooza, one of the van’s tires blows out. Luckily, no one’s hurt while Officer Shaw (Michaela Russell) was nearby and saw the incident. Unluckily, Shaw informs them that the nearest mechanic won’t be able to repair the vehicle until tomorrow. While bemoaning their circumstances, everyone searches for a place to stay, and Sarah gets a hit on a very swanky place. Upon arrival, Sarah, Mona, and everyone else are greeted by shot glasses pertaining to the seven deadly sins and a lot of free booze. Soon after imbibing in the alcohol, a person in an electronic mask begins killing the friends off. Sarah, being new to this inner circle, soon discovers that Collette (Siwa) was once a part of the group but died under mysterious circumstances. Is the murderer someone close to Collette seeking revenge? Or does Karmapalooza attract a crazed killer with a very specific modus operandi?
#AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead is like Bodies Bodies Bodies meets The Scarehouse. This flick recalls Halina Reijn’s disasterpiece by focusing on seemingly shallow influencers and their extensive desire for likes/views/shares. The big difference is that the 2022 title remains shallow, never getting into what makes such people tick. On the other hand, Sims and Flaum slowly peel back layers for most of the leads. At first, Will seems to be the traditional lazy stoner type, but he’s revealed to be one of, if not the most, perceptive and intelligent of the bunch. L.B. is always trying to score, but what’s done with him posthumously is shockingly clever. Without giving too much away, every character, save for one, winds up having quite a bit going on as their shallowness gives way to true dimension. Well, that is all everyone save for Mona, who is just Mona, the seemingly innocent and naive one in the group.
"…like Bodies Bodies Bodies meets The Scarehouse."
