Frightfest 2022: ‘Everybody Dies By the End’ Review #2
Stars: Bill Oberst Jr., Vinny Curran, Ian Tripp, Brendan Cahalan, Ryan Schafer, Seton Edgerton, Iliyana Apostolova| Written by Ian Tripp | Directed by Ian Tripp, Ryan Schafer
With a title like that you kind of have to deliver as a horror movie. It also kind of gives away what is going to happen in the movie but is it really a spoiler when you say everyone is going to die in your genre film. That said, the journey that Everybody Dies By the End takes is just as rewarding.
Everybody Dies By the End follows a documentary crew of two, who have been asked to film the first movie in ten years by ‘legendary’ cult filmmaker Alfred Costella, who has also said it will be his last film. They are told to keep the camera’s rolling throughout his practical effects-filled movie with a dark twist.
You absolutely have a very good idea of where the movie is heading from the first minute but it does not affect your enjoyment of it at all. Indeed, I loved it right from that first minute, it really is such an enjoyable watch. Yes, it is a comedy – in fact, it could fit in any number of movie genres – comedy, mockumentary and horror being the main three – but it has a certain darkness to it underneath all those laughs. You’re always a bit unsure of many of the character’s intentions. A lot of them, despite looking happy and pleasant on the outside, give you that odd look or occasional outburst that leads you to think something is brewing underneath it all.
And top of those characters, in terms of entertainment, is Alfred Costello played by Vinny Curran. Curran doesn’t have a whole lot of acting credits to his name but a third of them are the movies of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. I have no idea why he doesn’t work more (I will definitely be looking into it) because he is breathtakingly good here. The character itself is ingeniously written, I’m sure he is based on a few high-profile real-life directors but Curran takes it to another level. He feels so real in the role and his dialogue is so good at times, and so well delivered that it seems like it is off the cuff. It’s all very natural with Curran showing a ton of charisma. He is thankfully backed up by a whole load of good actors who put in great performances. Everyone plays their part and shows good chemistry. You kind of forget this isn’t an actual documentary at times and though meta-style the filmmakers are going for works much better than it should.
Even though it doesn’t work quite in the same way as if it was an actual movie (that sentence makes sense in my head), the practical effects are still used in a fun way. But when they are needed to be they look realistic, especially when mixed with some clever camera work.
The comparisons to Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon are obvious but fair ones, and there are not many movies at all that could compare favourably to that fantastic film, but Everybody Dies By the End does exactly that. It’s one of those perfect late-night horror movies to watch with a bunch of friends. Clever, funny and dark enough for horror fans to lap it up.
**** 4/5
Everybody Dies By the End screened as part of this year’s Arrow Video London Frightfest.
