The greatest thing about horror, as a genre, is how it spawns some of the most creative minds and ideas. Studios that can afford to take risks rarely do, leaving the risk-taking to the filmmakers who find themselves in a make-or-break position. This shows the distinction between filmmakers who want to perfect and hone their craft and filmmakers who want to make something commercially viable and safe. Destroy All Neighbors falls in the former category. In the vein of recent art house films like All Jacked Up and Full of Worms, A Wounded Fawn, and Pussycake, Destroy All Neighbors tells a singular tale in obscure and insanely avant-garde ways.
A Fun Horror Comedy Full of Charm and Character
On paper, Destroy All Neighbors sounds like an all-around risk. The film is flashy, loud, and sensory assaulting. At no point does Destroy All Neighbors lose its charm or character. Director Josh Forbes and cinematographer Will Stone craft a visually enthralling Lovecraftian nightmare that exudes pure upstairs neighbor energy. Comedy and horror expertly share the stage in this twisted story from writers Mike Benner, Jared Logan, and Charles A. Pieper. Benner and Logan bring their level of late-night show and syndicated comedy style of writing, while Pieper brings the gratuitously nihilistic horrors as seen in his festival-favorite short film Malacostraca.
Destroy All Neighbors is a practical marvel, proving that practical effects aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. SFX for this film was handled by Gabriel Bartalos, a name that will probably sound familiar to some practical purists out there. Expert blocking and framing allow Bartalos’s work to shine in ways that elevate the film. On top of Bartalos’s work, key SFX makeup artist Bill Corso (another name that will sound familiar to the right audience) and makeup department head Natividad Bujalance Andres’s work provides expert authenticity to Destroy All Neighbors.
Standout Performances in a Twisted Tale
In a truly transformative and one-of-a-kind performance, Alex Winter fully embodies Vlad (and the public defender), with one catch. The gimmick of Vlad, a fast-talking and gruff (possibly?) Russian, might not work for everyone. With sparse moments of slipping in and out of his accent, it’s pretty clear how much fun he had with his performance. Jonah Ray Rodrigues commands the film in his lead role, with help from the excellent supporting cast of Kiran Deol, Thomas Lennon, Randee Heller, DeMorge Brown, and Kumail Nanjiani.
If you’re looking for an incredibly fun, bloody, and rowdy horror comedy that keeps throwing new ideas at you every few minutes, then Destroy All Neighbors is the perfect film for you.
Destroy All Neighbors drops on Shudder on January 12, 2024.
