All My Friends Are Dead

Polish horror comedy All My Friends Are Dead begins with a flash-forward that reveals a scene of carnage as found by the police. The Netflix film then rewinds to the day before to show how the characters ended up in that situation. The movie is very much in the style of American teen comedies, although director Jan Belcl infuses it with sex and Tarantino-style gore with gusto.

Marek hosts a New Year’s Eve party while his parents are on holiday. The house is filled with young people dancing and drinking, all of them fitting one stereotype or another. There’s astrology enthusiast Anastazja, her wannabe rapper boyfriend, the romantic Daniel who wants to propose to his girlfriend that night, the former’s nymphomaniac sister, and so on. Soon, there are sexual encounters taking place at every corner. As couples makeup and break up, Anastazja finds a gun in a drawer. From that moment on, the debauchery turns into mayhem and escalates beyond control. 

The dark element of the feature is limited to the unfolding of a splatter show, which means that there is no real intrigue behind the action. The plot and characters remain underdeveloped. There is no attempt whatsoever to instil a motive for events to turn violent, they just become so, presumably, to fulfil the picture’s desire for gore. The fact that the violence is accidental is meant to provide humour, but, again, the movie seems to be solely concerned with playing with the cinematic style rather than with offering original or powerful content.

Notwithstanding, fans of the genre will no doubt appreciate the way the film stays true to its scope and will likely find parts of it entertaining.

Mersa Auda

All My Friends Are Dead is released on Netflix on 3^rd February 2021.

Watch the trailer for All My Friends Are Dead here: