All Cheerleaders Die

I'm shocked by how harsh the reviews are for this film. No, this is not Gone with the Wind or Citizen Kane, but for what it is, the movie is pretty great. I caught this film after it came out on Netflix and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. Compared to 90% of horror films being made today, this one is infinitely more engaging and clever. At the same time, it has all the classic elements of a teen scream that one would look for if you were in the mood for that type of film. Honestly, it's an inventive take on a classic move genre and well worth your time if you are in the mood for some silly, gory fun. Highly recommend you ignore all the people who trashed this movie and see it for yourself. You'll be glad you did.

After her childhood friend Alexis (Felisha Cooper) dies while performing a cheerleading move, the rebellious Maddy (Caitlin Stasey) is horrified when Alexis's football-playing boyfriend Terry (Tom Williamson) begins immediately dating cheerleader Tracy (Brooke Butler). As a result Maddy decides that she will join the cheerleading team, as they must now find a replacement for Alexis, with the intent to seek revenge against Terry and Tracy.

This is a remake of a 2001 film of the same name that was also written and directed by McKee and Sivertson. To say it is an improvement would be obvious, but also true (there is now no reason to seek out the earlier one unless you are a die-hard fan).

Sadly, though, despite some clever moments and an interesting premise, this never reaches the level of "The Woods" or "May", and despite Lucky's quick rise to horror master, he is not flawless (but who is?). Sivertson is still waiting for the right film... "I Know Who Killed Me" has its fans, but is not by any means a well respected movie.

I didn't expect to have such fun watching this. It obviously aims to be for an adult audience with all the blood and sexual situations the characters get themselves into. Having Lucky McKee doing a movie like this might be the biggest surprise though. I never thought we would see a light side of this director, but obviously I was wrong. And that is a good thing, because the movie works.

Giving the cheerleader to do what they want and making this all about women/girls was a really good decision, even if at one or two moments I thought some of the guys where painted to dark, without some shades. But this is about having fun, so don't let that distract you from some obvious flaws

Better than I'd heard. It has some major flaws. My guess is that there was some producer interference, because the set-up could have been better developed. It feels a tad chopped up. The whole horror premise is caused by vague, supernatural bullcrap that really could have used some better defining. Once it all gets going, though, the film is kind of fun. Four cheerleaders die in a car accident that's caused by the football stars. A goth teen (Sianoa Smit-McPhee) who once dated one of the cheerleaders (Caitlin Stasey) finds their bodies and brings them back to life through witchcraft. As with anything brought back from the dead, the cheerleaders become bloodthirsty monsters who want revenge. It's a pretty basic horror premise, but it works largely because of the very good cast. The other three cheerleaders are played by Brooke Butler, Amanda Grace Cooper and Reanin Johannik. The villain (the captain of the football team) is well played by Tom Williamson. Certainly not one of McKee's best works, but it's better than a majority of the horror films that are being released nowadays.

There's dead cheerleaders out for revenge, witchcraft and body switching, yet this never amounts to anything fun. Most of the first act has very little happening and is an endurance test waiting for the plot to begin. Boring murderous jocks kill some cheerleaders who get resurrected by a young witch in love with one of the cheerleaders and the tone sits uncomfortably between campy self aware cheese and flat, unfunny B material. The characters are barely distinguishable from one another and there isn't a single memorable on screen death. Yet another step in the wrong direction for the once promising Lucky McKee and a major step up from Chris Sivertson's I Know Who Killed Me. TV production values don't help here either.

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