Even the most generic slashers can be a whole lot of fun. #AMFAD All My Friends Are Dead is more than just another slasher, however. The film may have many of the familiar tropes found in the genre, but it stands out thanks to its fun story and excellent protagonist. It is a good old fashioned horror movie that plays to modern crowds without ever feeling dated or forced. We talked to star Jade Pettyjohn and director Marcus Dunstan about one of the best slashers in years.
AIPT:
Final Girls are an important part of slashers. There has been some evolution over the years, but they are the same for the most part. Sarah is probably the best Final Girl since Sidney from Scream. She’s really complex in a way you just don’t see. What were your inspirations?
Jade Pettyjohn:
That is such a great compliment and truly indicative of what great writing I had to work with. BeSarah’s a Final Girl in a way no one has really ever seen before. I really love horror films and I really do feel like Sarah was influenced by every Final Girl that came before her. And that was something that I definitely drew from.
But then again, I think what Josh and Jessica and Marcus and John all created with this project was a character that was so different and the writing was so nuanced that it was a lot of fun where I was able to enter the space of playing a Final Girl and paying an ode or a homage to all that had come before me, but also really turn it over on its head and do my own thing and dive into this whole other area that I don’t think anyone would really expect coming from this particular character, which was so much fun.
AIPT:
How important was it for All My Friends Are Dead to be an old-school slasher with modern sensibilities?
Marcus Dunstan:
Well, I wanted to try to join the conversation and I’d never had the honor of filming a murder mystery. I tended to lean towards those and gravitate towards those when I was growing up. So as much as I really respect the craft and the intensity and the big of Friday the 13th Part Four: The Final Chapter, it’s that mystery that I also appreciated. Same with Happy Birthday To Me, and same with My Bloody Valentine.
There was acreage in the plotting to develop the characters a bit more, even if it was to throw suspicion or offer a red herring. I felt like I was knowing these people just a bit more. So, when the hammer fell, it was like, oh, I felt a little more connected to those entities. This was a chance to do that and to crank up the volume and maybe see if we could dare compete with the modern voice and do so. And then when it comes, when you’ve got a cast anchored by Jade, well now you have everything you need to blow it all up and make it so.
AIPT:
There are some outrageous kills in the movie, but it never loses its sense of fun. How difficult was it to mix that grotesqueness and still make the audience laugh?
Marcus:
I would like to put a point on it and say, “This is how you do it.” But every time it’s magic. And sometimes it’s pulling a shot back a little bit more. Sometimes it’s going with a take where the performance is a little bit bigger. And sometimes it’s by simply giving the character a moment of despicability right before it happens. And then you’re like, yeah, then you’re actually asking for the nasty to show up.
And then stepping back from that, wanting to encourage ultimately a laugh. If you get the best sort of kill, there’s that shocked laughter that happens. And then the architecture of each one ideally would feel like a joke. Set up person in the dark. Build is something’s in the dark with me. And the punchline is, that’s where we get you. And we’ll get you ideally to jump, then see something red and then laugh like, “Woo, I got through that one. How are they going to top it?”
AIPT:
What do you think draws audiences to them still?
Marcus:
I think it really is leaning into who doesn’t like a good mystery? Agatha Christie started this whole thing as far back as I can, and I’m sure that there’s testaments to mysteries before even Sherlock Holmes. But Agatha Christie had the who amongst us could be this nefarious.
And then just with that template, it gets to become a reflection and talking point for what’s happening to that segment of the population. In this case, folks in college introducing themselves, creating themselves, offering themselves into this modern world. But what if someone was watching back who had a bit of an evil streak?
Jade:
I think that there’s something so vital within that world, particularly leaning into the mystery of it. But something I can say just as a fan myself is something I really love when I’m going to the movies to watch a movie, is when I experience whatever I experience in the most visceral way possible. I love the shock and visibly or audibly gasping or screaming or laughing and going, “Oh God!”. And you’re jolting and jumping up.
The physical experience of watching a slasher film and the way that it gets your blood pumping is just, it’s such a treat. And it really reminds me of why, honestly, why we go to the movies in the first place is to get lost in a story for a couple of hours and forget about everyday life.
And I think slasher films do such a great way of doing that where you’re like, “What is happening?” Again, who could be the most nefarious in this group? And you’re really taken on this really wild journey with a set of characters. And again, I just think slasher films just do a great job at making people jump and feel. And I think that’s really the point of filmmaking is to make people feel as much as you possibly can.
AIPT:
The entire cast had really good chemistry in All My Friends Are Dead. They might be a toxic friend group, but the chemistry is great. Did it come by naturally or did you all have to work at it?
Jade:
It’s so interesting. I think that the job of an actor is, you really do have to create chemistry, whether it’s there or not, that’s part of our job. But it is always so exciting and lovely when it is just naturally there. And that’s absolutely what happened with All My Friends Are Dead. The first time you had all of us in a room, it was perfect. There was no effort in trying to get these dynamics in place. We really loved each other and hit it off.
And something that was also really lovely was we shot this film primarily in chronological order. The establishment of these characters were the first thing that we shot, which is where you need to see all of these dynamics at play and all this chemistry.
And it was just so seamless with these guys. They’re just genuinely amazing people. They’re hilarious. We were able to improv quite a bit. And the chemistry was just undeniable. It made all of our lives infinitely easier, that we actually really loved each other and we worked well together.
AIPT:
Like any good slasher, All My Friends Are Dead does leave itself open for a sequel. Can you see this becoming a franchise?
Marcus:
Hey, we would gratefully return and it’s well, wouldn’t that be something? Suspicious eyebrow raise.
Jade:
I love this film. And never say never. Never say never.
#AMFAD All My Friends Are Dead is now available in select theaters, on digital, and On Demand.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login