We’re So Dead review
Christmas horror season kicks off with a comedy about the horrors of food service.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
We’re So Dead
Directed by Ken MacLaughlin
Written by Ken MacLaughlin
Starring Jenna Kanell, Kevin Saunders, Artemis, Leanna Adams, Darron Cardosa, Ethan Trace and Aria Celeste Castillo
We’re So Dead Review
I’ve been surprisingly pleased to find that the Karen phenomenon has largely stayed out of horror movies. It makes for an obvious antagonist…but there’s so little new ground to break with it. Karens simply don’t have enough dimensions to make for a sustainable character. We’re So Dead risks it anyway…and finds enough humor in the concept to make it work. It’s probably telling that the runtime of We’re So Dead comes in so low, however. A short film means there isn’t any need to try and drag more out of the concept than you already have. It also means a story with little to no fat on it. Something that benefits both comedies and slasher movies. Of which this is both.
We’re So Dead is also a Christmas movie. The story takes place on Christmas Eve, entirely inside of a restaurant. It features a likable cast of characters stuck in a bad situation that soon turns deadly. Above all else…and despite purposefully over the top kills and characters…We’re So Dead is a realistically funny look at working in the food service industry. To recap…this is a Christmas slasher comedy about food service workers dealing with a Karen. I could have led with that and saved us all two paragraphs.
It’s Christmas Eve and big changes are afoot at the local restaurant whose name I never caught. Ashley (Jenna Kanell) is there for her last shift. Gina (Artemis) is there for her first. They both question why they would schedule their end/start dates for Christmas Eve…but the truth is they simply don’t have anything better to do. Besides, the tips promise to be bountiful with a huge private party having booked the whole night. That is until the party cancels at the last minute leaving the crew stuck at work with no big bonus heading their way. This would be bad enough…but a Karen arrives to make the night as horrible, and bloody, as possible.
The slasher aspects in We’re So Dead, like everything else, are played for comedy. Exaggerated effects and a cackling antagonist ensure the point isn’t suspense. There’s no mystery as to who is doing the killing either. Why she is doing it does get addressed in a delightfully silly flashback. Delightfully silly is a good way to describe a lot of things in We’re So Dead. But it’s also, quite often, very funny. Especially if you have spent any time working in the food service industry. The observations and asides made by the restaurant employees are completely on point. From getting screwed over for the millionth time to dealing with a pestering customer to, frankly, dealing with any customer…the entire script is full of amusingly knowing commentary.
It has some fun Christmasy stuff going on too. Taking place on Christmas Eve…we see some costumes, suggestive cookies and attempts at holiday songs. Like everything in the food service industry…it comes with half-hearted attempts and non-committed participants. That’s the tone that We’re So Dead employs for its wait staff. And it makes for a strong counterpoint to the film’s antagonist.
As mentioned, this is a Karen movie. Yes, the impossible to please Karen trope…a woman who finds fault and offense in everything…has come to the restaurant looking to kill everyone who works there. The kills are funny…but also permanent. Though played for laughs we’re really losing some likeable folks along the way. With such a short film (IMDB lists it as 65 minutes…but I think it might be a tick longer) We’re So Dead doesn’t let anything get in the way of it’s jokes and kills. It’s refreshing to watch something that uses all of its ideas and says…that’s enough. No need to pad it out. Everything benefits from the lean nature of the story.
The cast is great. Jenna Kanell (Terrifier, Faceless After Dark, The Buildout) is the face you’re most likely to know. She’s great here as she has been in those listed movies. Ashley is dealing with the death of her mother and the need for a change in her life. Though she plays the lead by any measure you have…We’re So Dead is an ensemble piece. Gina (Artemis) is being put through first day hazing. Bartender Dirk (Darron Cardosa) is very much over any of this. Hapless boss Doug (Kevin Saunders) tries, and fails, to raise morale throughout the night. Karen (Leanna Adams) is just as annoying as she needs to be…and funny in her own right.
We’re So Dead is an effective comedy about food service with a decent take on the Karen archetype, Christmas season and slasher genre wrapped around it. There’s enough going on, enough colorful characters, to make the already short time fly by. Likeable people being pretty funny until they’re dispatched in an absurd manner. Not a bad way to spend Christmas Eve.
Scare Value
If you’re looking for a breezy, entertaining watch with a mix of slasher story, workplace comedy and Christmas setting…We’re So Dead is exactly that. A likeable group of characters deal with the mundane and truly dangerous over the course of one deadly night. Funny when it wants to be, absurd when it needs to be…We’re So Dead nails the tone it’s going for. A talented cast and a strong script are aided by a lack of artificial padding. The result is a fun movie for the holidays.
3/5
We’re So Dead Link
Rent/Buy on VOD from Amazon
