Directors/ Writers: Lucky McKee, Chris Silverton
Starring: Caitlin Stasey, Sianoa Smit-McPhee, Brooke Butler, Tom
Williamson, Reanin Johannink
Synopsis: After a freak accident where the head cheerleader is
killed, outsider Maddy (Stasey) joins the team, intent on bringing the airhead
troupe down. Before Maddy can sabotage the lot, the football team are involved
in an altercation which changes everything for both groups.
Had this film taken itself
seriously it would be beyond absurd. As it stands, All Cheerleaders Die is tongue-in-cheek and conspicuously silly.
With its combination of Wiccan magic, vampirism and Mean Girls high-school humour, this is a black comedy a touch
different from the rest.
Handheld camera work at the start
has you rolling your eyes at what might be another
found footage horror film, but this only a brief exercise in a tired style. It
then changes to a regular mode of filming, never attempting anything too grand
or stylish. What helps All Cheerleaders Die
is directors Lucky McKee and Chris Silverton keeping it all grounded. Sure,
it includes some supernatural exuberance, but within the confines of its budget
you aren’t seeing superfluous flair or stabs at something elaborate.
This extends to the performances
that, other than Sianoa Smit-McPhee, aren’t over acted. At certain points
emotional outbursts are melodramatic, excusable only for the fact that it’s
after a Wiccan transformation. Full moons and witch stones appear sporadically
from the beginning, subliminally preparing you for what eventually comes. Characters
are part of this strange world too, accepting the craziness around them quickly
and without much question. You are willing to buy into the witchcraft partly
because you have no other choice. Each cheerleader decides it’s the new norm,
as do the football team villains, insisting you should too. Furthermore, you
are conscious of the formula whereby a bloodbath will erupt before you and a
hero will rise. Without spoiling things, it doesn’t conform to your
expectations, weirdly leaving you wanting more.
You can either relax your brain
in order to enjoy All Cheerleaders Die
or sit uncomfortably for 90 minutes. Its daft mixture of horror traits and
high-school politics is amusing, not be taken seriously. Guys will find
watching beautiful girls for an hour and a half decent enough, whilst the girls
can take pride in its strong female figures and boys versus girls outline. It’s
no game-changer or feminist turning point in cinema, instead, harmless, irreverent
fun.
Also posted on LiveForFilms
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