Short Synopsis:
A documentary crew is hired to chronicle the making of cult classic horror director Alfred Costella’s final film; An all practical masterpiece with a dark twist entitled ‘Everybody Dies by the End’.
There’s the old adage that goes something along the lines of “Write what you know.” This film is very much akin to that age old wisdom, with filmmakers Ian Tripp & Ryan Schafer creating a horror film about a documentary crew filming the creation of a horror film. If that’s not a meta-take on the old adage, then I don’t know what is. The film stars Bill Oberst Jr., Vinny Curran, Caroline Amiguet, Iliyana Apostolova and Amber Grayson. Both Tripp and Schafer also star in the film.
I did not really know what to expect going into this film as the trailer was really all over the place. The concept of a mockumentary of the making of the magnum opus of a master of horror gone wrong is indeed tantalizing, but also somewhat insane. Has this not been attempted before? I know there’s the masterful Man Bites Dog (1992) but that film is definitely not this. This seemed like a spoof of the genre and I was truly concerned that all I was in for was a hot mess. I was so, so wrong. I’d go so far as to say that I was 100% sold on the awesomeness of Everybody Dies By The End within its first few witty minutes.
The film kicks off with one of the funniest opening scenes that I can honestly say I have ever had the pleasure of watching. It’s absolute gold. I was left grinning ear to ear and would probably have been laughing out loud had I been baked. It then gets progressively darker with each passing scene. That is not to say that the comedic elements leave the production. Nay, they remain, they just become increasingly darker mimicking the tone of the film.
I’m not going to say that Everybody Dies By The End was an original concept. I’m not going to say that the plot has not—in some form—been done before. It has. I won’t even dare say that it is an unpredictable film as I was able to easily see the dark and twisted road we were walking down from pretty early on. It’s not the predictability that’s important but the way that the film sheds light on horror films as a whole; the way that it callously calls out the genre in an almost mocking fashion but still manages to stay lighthearted in nature.
We get very unsubtle jabs at B-actors and arrogant directors; we get mockery of shitty SFX and the fanboys that unprofessionally exert their will on sets; we get the messy drama of the interpersonal relationships that crash and burn films before they even hit the cutting room floor…it’s all there in some form or another but at the same time the motion picture manages to maintain a coherent narrative that stays faithful to its roots—almost an homage to the actors, directors, writer, producers, and crew that work tirelessly to brings these messy productions to fruition. Also, how genius is the move to have the cast play B-actors and hacks? They literally cannot mess up that role no matter how poor the performance.
Yes, I saw where the film was headed but I still loved all of the subtlety and tongue-in-cheek humour that was on display on the way to our final destination. It was a hilarious roller-coaster ride of a flick and I’d highly recommend it to anyone that is in any way involved in the production of horror movies, those who review them, the stereotypical horror nerds, and even fans of indie cinema in general. This film was made for you specifically. Thanks for reading and as always, stay sordid. Trailer, artwork and links are below.
Links: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9150828/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
