Horror would be nothing without gimmicks, but they don't have to come at the expense of meaningful storytelling.
Despite the totally different tones and style of the movie, my first thought when watching #AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead was that it reminded me of another 2024 release: Tarot. At a glance, these movies have next to nothing in common. #AMFAD is a true-to-form R-rated slasher, advertising its gore and Jojo Siwa’s involvement to bring in an audience, while Tarot’s draw was due to the monster designs made for each tarot card featured in the PG-13 movie. However, both films share one fundamental similarity: their reliance on gimmicks to keep the audience hooked.
#AMFAD is basically all gimmick: a killer wearing the face of a dead ex-friend kills our unlucky (or maybe just awful) group of social media influencers based on which of the seven sins they most embody. The executions are creative but absurdly on-the-nose, like when Guy (Jack Doupe-Smith), the group’s designated “glutton,” is force-fed until his stomach explodes. While Tarot makes a (poor) attempt at storytelling on top of its gimmick, the centerpiece of the film is clearly the titular tarot cards. Haley (Harriet Slater) does readings for each of her friends, and they all begin to die in ways earlier similar to the fortunes she predicted. For one of her friends, for instance, she draws the High Priestess and tells them that they are “climbing the ladder of success” but will later suffer a “crushing blow”; the friend is later bludgeoned by a ladder by a monstrous version of priestess.
While watching #AMFAD for the first time, I found that these movies both succeeded and failed in a lot of the same places. For both, the creative kills are a major standout element. They are, of course, contrived and outrageous, but the tone of each film allows for that. #AMFAD is silly and ridiculous all the way through, and Tarot is clearly in the realm of the fantastical; it’s easy to suspend your disbelief and just enjoy the madness of what’s going on. The kills are aided with great props and set pieces in #AMFAD and awesome effects and creature designs in Tarot. In a way, it makes sense that the kills are the highlight: they are clearly what the selling point was of the movie and the reason it was written in the first place. These visual elements, while effective, ultimately highlight the movies’ biggest flaw: the gimmick is all they have.
Not one member of #AMFAD’s cast of social media influencers develops even the slightest bit as the story progresses. The characters are rude, vapid, stupid, and then they die. The only character who ends the story in a different light than she first started is the protagonist, Sarah (Jade Pettyjohn), but that is just because her backstory is meant to be a twist ending where she had been the one behind the killings. Even this “twist” is uninteresting because there is no other believable reason for her to be involved in the hangout unless she was planning the killings. At the end of the day, no one grows or changes, and the characters constantly show how little they care about each other. Despite being a slasher where the viewer is meant to gain some sort of affection for the final girl and last few survivors, the characters are instead written like meat fodder for a Saw movie: people who have already committed some grave wrongdoing and are simply awaiting their punishment like lamb to the slaughter.
Tarot’s characters don’t even have the excuse of being fake, uncaring social media influencers to explain why none of them seem to care about their friends dying. Haley is the only protagonist given any kind of emotional arc and backstory, and it does little more than to make her character come across as melodramatic compared to the others involved in the events taking place. Of course, meat fodder is a necessity in any kind of slasher-esque movie, but characters like Paxton (Jacob Batalon) and Paige (Avantika) probably could have gotten a little more depth of personality other than “funny” and “sad” since they both lived through most of the movie.
Both movies also fail to add anything of substance to their initial gimmick. In the case of #AMFAD, I honestly struggled to see why many of them were assigned their deadly sin. Liv (Ali Fumiko Whitney) was given the sin of “greed” because she wanted followers on social media, but out of all of her friends, she seemed to be the least cutthroat one there and wasn’t really doing much in terms of stepping on others to achieve fame. Mona (Jennifer Ens) was given “pride,” but in all honesty, greed would have been a better fit for her. Pride is usually about having an excessively high opinion of oneself, but Mona seemed to have the genuine capabilities, strength, and talent to back up all of her claims. Sure, she was mean to others, but her high self opinion seemed to have a pretty valid source. Beyond that, they seemed to forget about this whole theme in the third act, where the characters were mostly dying randomly in a chase scene with the killer.
Many people claimed that Tarot was also a complete misrepresentation of what tarot and tarot readings actually are. They created some really cool-looking monsters to match with each card, but it seems clear that they didn’t care much to look into what people actually use tarot cards for and how they work. For example, people who use tarot cards know that the future is not some fixed thing but rather something that will change and grow based on our actions. Despite this fact, one of the only characters to truly survive their death trap was Paxton, and he only lived because his roommate happened to open the elevator door at just the right moment, something that was completely unrelated to his fortune. This change would maybe imply that our futures aren’t fixed, but that only some external force can change them, which seems counterintuitive to tarot’s real purpose of self-reflection and growth. If #AMFAD wanted to be Saw, then Tarot definitely was following in Final Destination’s footsteps.
What’s surprising, though, is how these gimmicky slashers manage to showcase some genuinely strong performances. Avantika, for instance, was wonderful in Tarot; she was the only one who ever sounded truly upset in scenes where the characters were mourning their lost loved ones, and her death scene at the hands of the Magician was my favorite in the film, doubtlessly because of how her believable reactions and emotions elevated the tension. Similarly, Jennifer Ens stands out in #AMFAD as Mona, the tough-as-nails influencer who believes she deserves to survive at any cost. Her confidence and fierce attitude make her one of the more memorable parts of the film, even if the writing around her character is weak.
At the end of the day, what feels unfortunate to me is that both #AMFAD and Tarot squander the potential of both their gimmicks and, at times, their passionate and talented cast and crew. Gimmick horror is a staple to the genre. Where would we be without Final Destination 2 terrifying everyone into switching lanes when they’re driving behind a logging truck, the possibility of a Happy Death Day/Freaky crossover, or Unfriended’s completely online storytelling? Many of these movies manage to be entertaining, have great kills, and tell a real story all at once. Movies like Scream and Cabin in the Woods show that even self-aware, trope-laden horror that’s literally making fun of itself can still have thematic depth. #AMFAD and Tarot, however, don’t ever move beyond surface-level scares. By focusing so intently on their kill mechanics and neglecting character arcs, they lose the opportunity to make their deaths feel earned or meaningful.
If you’re in it for the kill count or a fun, mindless watch, then both #AMFAD and Tarot will probably entertain. But for those hoping for a slasher with real substance, these movies may leave you wanting more.
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