All Cheerleaders Die
Director: Lucky McKee, Chris Sivertson
Writer: Lucky McKee, Chris Sivertson
Cast: Caitlin Stasey, Sianoa Smit-McPhee, Brooke Butler, Amanda Grace Cooper, Reanin Johannink, Tom Williamson, Chris Petrovski, Leigh Parker, Nicholas S. Morrison, Jordan Wilson, Felisha Cooper
Part of: /slash Filmfestival

Plot:
After a tragic accident Maddie (Caitlin Stasey) signs up for the cheerleading team, despite that really not being her clique. But she leaves her old life and friend Leena (Sianoa Smit-McPhee) behind and throws herself into the squad and her friendship with squad leader Tracy (Brooke Butler). But Maddie has an ulterior motive. One that is quickly overshadowed by supernatural events.

I was completely taken by surprise by All Cheerleaders Die and I loved every second of it. The story twists several ways, none of which I suspected at first. It plays with stereotypes, has a good sense of humor and was above all a film that was fun.

After The Woman, I was pretty much convinced that Lucky McKee was female because of the excellent way that the female characters and the violence against women were handled. Only after further research did I discover that he wasn’t. And now with All Cheerleaders Die, he gave us yet another film that is completely with his female protagonists and that is again about violence against women and how they (can) deal with it. [Everything else is very different though.]

And not only that, he does so by focusing on the women in the film, their relationships with each other and their friendships. And by subverting some rather misogynistic tropes. Witchcraft employed by the outsider is a good thing here. The cheerleaders seem shallow but aren’t. The heroine might be not so pure. And all of them, together, revolt against being pressed into any kind of category or being objectified.

And the film achieves all of that while being just flat-out fun. It’s keyed-up, fast-paced and there are some excellent jokes. It whisks you along and before you know it, you passed through several genres. It’s overblown and ridiculous at times and you don’t mind in the least.

All of that is possible because the cast manages to hit the right notes. There’s a joke one moment and the next you have emotional drama: drama that is both funny and touching. And sometimes even the guys get something to do. But most of the time, the film rests firmly in the hands of its female protagonists. That’s a good place for it to be.

Summarizing: YES!