‘#AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead’ Tribeca 2024 Review: Colorful Chaos
Way back in 2004, the Karmapalooza music festival turned into a crime scene with the brutal murder of seven college students. The spree killer, aptly named the Seven Deadly Sins Killer, stylized the slayings after, you guessed it, the Seven Deadly Sins. SDSK was never caught. Over the years, their crimes were woven into pop culture. The events transformed from a traumatic tragedy into content for true crime podcasts, Netflix series, and movies.
20 years later, festival organizers revive Karmapalooza. College student Sarah (Jade Pettyjohn) goes with her new friend group, volunteering to drive everyone in her van. Riding with her is Mona (Jennifer Ens), an up-and-coming social media star; Liv (Ali Fumiko Whitney), an aspiring influencer; LB (Juian Haig), a loud and promiscuous livestreamer; the chronically lethargic and terminally chill dude Will (Justin Derickson); and Guy (Jack Doupe-Smith), an enthusiastic consumer of weed and seemingly every other psychoactive substance. Missing from the van is Aaron (Cardi Wong), a pharmacist who can’t miss work, much to his dismay, as he harbors a major crush on Sarah.
Also Read: ‘Vulcanizadora’ Tribeca 2024 Review: Joel Potrykus’ Explosive Coming-Of-Age Story
On the way to the festival grounds, the van gets a flat tire and Sarah doesn’t have a spare. They rent a house for the night while they wait for the local auto shop to replace the tire.
Their impromptu rental vacay has a lively start. But the fun quickly ends as a masked killer starts murdering the friends one by one, tailoring each death after the Deadly Sin the victim is associated with. But the killer’s fun doesn’t end there. They also send the friends texts tormenting them about their former friend Colette (played by JoJo Siwa in flashbacks). It’s revealed that Colette died by suicide after they leaked an intimate video she had sent to Mona. Scared and stranded in the house, the friends must fight for their lives and confront their own sinful actions.
Directed by Marcus Dunstan (Saw IV, V, VI, 3D), #AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead takes a familiar premise and gives it a fresh splash of neon and pastel paint. Writers Jessica Sarah Flaum, Josh Sims, and John Baldecchi put a spotlight on internet culture, taking actually funny jabs at the thirst for online fame. In the van and in the rental house, the characters record themselves indulging in shots and joints. They even take deceptive photos of themselves in a tiny inflatable pool to create the illusion that they’re in a luxury resort.
Also Read: ‘The Devil’s Bath’ Tribeca 2024 Review: A Merciless Portrait of Depression
#AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead also comments on the culture of true crime sensationalism. References to the meme-ification of SDSK and allusions to other infamous killers abound. Mona’s sleazy agent Slick Rick (Peter Giles) even has a line about capitalizing on “survivor status.”
All of the characters are believable, sometimes painfully so. Whitney and Ens nail their portrayals of the fame-seeking Liv and mean-girl influencer Mona, respectively. Both infuse so much vulnerability into their roles that you can’t help but empathize with them. Pettyjohn’s Sarah is also compelling. She keeps her cards close to her chest, leaving the audience to wonder if it’s trauma or rage hidden under her wide-eyed everywoman demeanor. Doupe-Smith, Haig, Derickson, and Wong round out the cast with their stoney, goofy, and horny—but still interesting and distinct—characters.
The characters are fun to watch; their deaths even more so. Each murder is elaborate, innovative, and delightfully grotesque. The special effects crew—Frank Ceglia (supervisor), Mathew Snider (coordinator), Tom Blacklock, and Bleau Fortier—managed to bring a trippy yet anatomically plausible flair to each death.
Also Read: ‘Longlegs’ Review: A Disturbing Descent Into Hell
There are a few pacing issues throughout #AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead. The intro is a long series of news clips covering SDSK’s crimes and subsequent entry into the streaming platform space. The clips transition to a tedious scroll of texts and social media notifications over each character as they get ready to hit the road. Flashback sequences are drawn out and overused. There are a few instances of gross-out humor that contribute nothing and seem out of place. The side plot of Aaron’s crush on Sarah also feels unnecessary; its absence might have made the film tighter. There are also multiple post-credits scenes that don’t serve any purpose.
A well-executed final act, however, redeems many of the film’s flaws.
#AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead isn’t going to win everyone over. It doesn’t seem to aim to, though. In essence, this is an addition to the co-ed slasher genre that was tailor-made for the terminally online crowd. It’s not perfect, but it’s entertaining.
Summary
‘#AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead’ is a flawed but fun slasher with a spotlight on internet culture.
