Dead Teenagers is the final installment in Quinn Armstrong’s thematic trilogy. A group of teens are alone at a cabin in the woods. Predictably, a masked killer decides to interrupt their gathering. Just as suddenly, things take a surprising change leaving the friends to take the movie into their own hands.
The first two thirds of the movie is a nice take on slashers. For the most part, Dead Teenagers does not have the normal archetypes. And while it does have a Final Girl, Mandy (Jordan Myers) is more in control of her narrative. There is a sense of a mystery not always found in similar movies. There is a sense of engagement that goes beyond trying to figure out who is going to die next.
Things begin to unravel in the final act. It becomes clear that the question that drives the film is not going to have an answer. At this point, Dead Teenagers moves beyond its meta storytelling and becomes something more surreal. It seems obvious at first, but as the different versions of events and endings keep being thrown at the audience, it makes less and less sense. There is no clue as to why things turn out the way they do. Even more frustrating, the plot gives up on having a point. This is especially damning for a story that up until all the wackiness is straightforward in its own twisted way.
In the end, Dead Teenagers becomes a classic case of being too clever for its own good. The first hour or so is engaging. Things peak once it is seemingly revealed what is happening. Instead of building its deconstruction of slashers, the film goes in a more vague and ultimately, less interesting direction.
Dead Teenagers is now available on demand.
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