‘#AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead’ Director Marcus Dunstan and Star Jade Pettyjohn Tease Their New Influencer Horror
Creating a piece of influencer horror is no easy task. While it may seem easy to rip on vapid content creators and slaughter them for their digital sins, many cinematic influencers aren’t treated as human, which often leads to these films feeling incomplete and cheesy. But with his new film #AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead, director Marcus Dunstan wants to create a contemporary slasher with heart, one that slices and dices influencers while also crafting characters with more depth than a kiddie pool.
In the film, a group of college friends score tickets to the year’s biggest event, Karmapalooza. The group is made up of content creators plus Sarah (Jade Pettyjohn), a reserved newbie trying to navigate live-streamed shenanigans and icy quips from jealous friends. As they travel to the massive music festival, they get a flat tire and are forced to stay at an Airbnb with a violent past. But that’s just a story, right? They start the party but it quickly ends as they’re each slaughtered in increasingly repulsive ways tied to their specific sins. Blood flows and secrets are spilled as a twisty story unravels about friendship and genuine connection.
The Star Of AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead
AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead recently had its world premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival and we spoke with both Dunstan and star Jade Pettyjohn about tackling this take on the slasher. Pettyjohn shines as the film’s star, navigating a wide range of emotions as Sarah. With most of her work in television and feature film supporting roles, Pettyjohn is able to show off her acting chops and her ability to carry a film on her shoulders.
“There is no movie without Jade,” said Dunstan. “We could throw any tone at it because, I’ll repeat a phrase I’ve said earlier, the youngest old pro I’ve ever met would adapt to that tone and respect that tone. Jade was such a capable force.”
Nasty Kill Sequences Await
Pettyjohn’s performance shines next to some truly gnarly kill sequences that’ll have viewers squirming in their seats. And that’s par for the course for Dunstan, who not only wrote Saw IV, V, and VI but also directed The Collector, The Collection, and the upcoming The Collected. He’s a director well-versed in slashers and gore, which is incredibly apparent in every kill of #AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead.
Dunstan said of one particular kill sequence, “[It] feels like it could be in the Saw-niverse in a way. And I thought, ‘Well, if I’m even tiptoeing towards it, I want to step on top of it.'”
If that has your mouth watering, you don’t have to wait long for #AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead. It’s slated for release in select theater, digital, and VOD on August 2, 2024.
Pettyjohn said, “[T]his film is meant to be played on the big screen. It’s one of those amazing popcorn, candy-coated horror films, and I think it just enhances all of the shock and gore and everything that Marcus created when seen on a big screen.”
Keep an eye out for our full interview with Dunstan and Pettyjohn when the film releases this August.
Are you checking this slasher out when it hits theaters and VOD? Let us know on Twitter and Instagram @DreadCentral.
Categorized:Interviews News
