WFG RATING: A

Cineverse presents a Paramount Players production in association with Ambitious Entertainment, Digital Riot Media, Imoto Productions, and Roundtable Entertainment Holdings. Directed by Marcus Dunstan. Produced by John Baldecchi, Sarah Donnelly, Stephanie Rennie, and Kirk Shaw. Written by Josh Sims and Jessica Sarah Flaum; story by John Baldecchi. Cinematography by Andy Hodgson. Edited by Andrew Coutts.

Stars Jade Pettyjohn, Jennifer Ens, Justin Derrickson, Ali Fumiko Whitney, Julian Haig, Michaella Russell, Cardi Wong, Jack Doupe-Smith, and Jojo Siwa. 

A group of friends with eccentric personalities fall victim to a killer in the latest from the creator of The Collector franchise.

Twenty years ago, a music festival was the setting for a series of murders and the killer was never found. Flash forward to the present. The music festival is back on and a group of friends are determined to go to the event. The group includes the reserved Sarah, aspiring social media influencer Mona, womanizer L.B., stoner Guy, the outgoing Liz, and Will. Aaron, a pharmacist assistant who has a crush on Sarah, offers to meet the group later after his shift ends. 

En route to the festival, their van breaks down in the middle of the road. There, they are met by Officer Shaw, who despite catching the group with marijuana, lets them off with a warning and informs them that due to the festival, they can’t get their car fixed until the next day. They find a rental property in the middle of the woods. What starts out as a fun time before the festival soon becomes a nightmare when a mysterious killer arrives and targets the group. 

The latest film from Marcus Dunstan, the creator of the horror franchise The Collector, does something quite different as he didn’t write this film. Rather, he takes the directing reins and brings his brand of madness to the fray. Many are going to think of this as the “Jojo Siwa horror film” but what is interesting is that she only appears sporadically through flashbacks and in the opening scene, where we see her death, which becomes a catalyst for the film as a whole.

The cast of characters and potential victims are quite an eclectic bunch of personalities. It is clear that they went for a sort of 80s vibe in terms of who might end up being the “final girl”. However, that doesn’t mean the cast pull off some great performances. Jade Pettyjohn is great as Sarah, who is quite reserved and despite being at times picked on for her innocence, holds up quite well. Jennifer Ens’ Mona is a bit of an annoyance with her influence character while Julian Haig’s L.B. is going to be that one character you will loathe not only because of his womanizing ways, but the face he thinks he’s in charge of the group, relegating Aaron not to come unless he can brings some drugs to the mix. He’s a complete tool in my opinion.

The death scenes and the killer are quite intriguing and exciting to watch. We see the killer in a mask and cloak. We know that the killer is somehow connected to Siwa’s character as clues and even a reveal via a screen on the mask at times shows Siwa’s face imposed. There are some stellar kills in the film, including what looks like could be an homage to the likes of Slaughter High at times but even has some twists and turns that ultimately lead to a jaw-dropping finale that comes completely out of left field. 

#AMFAD All My Friends Are Dead is actually quite a really good horror film with some great kills. Marcus Dunstan has another winner, especially with one hell of a gut punch to end it.

The film will be released in select theaters. On Demand, and Digital on August 2.