#AMFAD is a pretty solid (if a little cringe quirky) slasher horror/comedy. It has a rocky opening but settles down into a watchable flick with an amusing sense of humor, a gallon of blood, and enough characters worth killing to enjoy their deaths.
It’s about a group of friends on their way to a concert who find a great Airbnb. Unfortunately for them (and fortunate for us), a masked killer has already laid out a trap. The killer’s modus operandi is based on the seven deadly sins… and, yes, they are wise enough to mention that other (much better) movie on a couple occasions.
This is a pretty classic slasher down to the gimmick mask the killer wears. The killer isn’t all that interesting given their LED-inspired rave mask, which is a little too impersonal. And the seven deadly sins thing is a bit hand-wavey (but manages to make sense at the end). The sins more-or-less line up with the characters but the kills based on them not always.
Also, the film opens with a frenetic bounce that made me think that some kid director saw one too many Guy Ritchie films. But it turns out the director made the hard, brutal Collector and Collection films from the late 2000s so he ain’t no spring chicken. I think he was just trying to emulate Gen Z social media video style a bit too much.
The characters are mostly worth killing and the kills are entertainingly brutal, creative, and gory. The humorous ick factor works very well, especially with the practical gore effects. Unfortunately, some bad CGI blood splatter is included but it’s kept to a minimum.
The mysterious backstory that feeds the killer is told a bit awkwardly in flashbacks. But I did like the reveal of why all this is happening and who the killer is. Unfortunately, the final act and the reveal gets a little messy and overly long. Not Return of the King long, but hovering in that area. On the plus side, they promise a sequel (including its title) at the very end and I’m looking forward to it. So that’s a win.
#AMFAD works pretty well as a classic slasher with decent, if sometimes frantic, comedy. I liked some of the characters but mostly I was ok with their fun and creative deaths. The killer was a mix of whatever gimmick and a pretty cool reveal. This is a solid, entertaining slasher.
Score: 78