Director(s) - Lucky McKee (May, The Woods) and Chris Sivertson (I Know Who Killed Me)
Starring - Caitlin Stasey (I, Frankenstein), Sianoa Smit-McPhee (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), and Brooke Butler (Retribution)
Release Date - 2014
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Revenge is a bitch"
Format - Streaming (online screener)
Rating (out of 5):
When I was in high school a few girls I knew absolutely loved the 2002 Lucky McKee film May. Personally, the film did not seem that interesting so I just never watched it. That was until the series Masters of Horror hit the scene and I watched McKee's episode for season 1 called Sick Girl. I really enjoyed that episode and decided to finally watch May. After watching it I now own the film on VHS and DVD so you can easily say I really enjoyed it. Sadly, I have forgot about McKee until recently when I caught wind that McKee was working on a new horror flick, All Cheerleaders Die. The film looked fun so I reached out for a screener copy and was lucky enough to secure one from Image Entertainment.
The film follows a competitive cheerleading squad that are recovering from the accidental death of one of their own. Maddy (Stasey) joins the team leaving behind her friend that dabbles in witchcraft. Maddy joins the squad so she can get revenge on a football player and his popular goons. However, things turn sour once the football douche and his teammates swear off cheerleaders so they can focus on football. This leads to an altercation that causes the girls to lose control of their car and wreck. The girls die but Maddy's friend grabs their bodies and performs a ritual to bring them back to life by planting a glowing crystal inside them. The ritual works and the girls come back but at a cost. The girls now crave flesh and start feeding on the football players responsible until the football douche learns of their dark secrets. He sets his sights on the young girls killing them as he can and taking their crystals to make himself even more powerful. This forces Maddy to get her revenge against the douche or die trying.
Lucky McKee is a director that we as horror fans better get used to seeing because he is a name that is not going anywhere. So many directors are known for their style or look that has become a sort of trademark of theirs. So many filmmakers have this and that is why most of them have so many die hard fans. However, McKee is not one of these filmmakers. McKee is able to adapt from film to film to give his fans, and random movie goers alike, a different experience. No two films are alike. This is a trait that will take him far in the horror scene. May was by far my favorite film of his but after watching All Cheerleaders Die, which is on polar opposites of the horror spectrum, I have a hard time picking my favorite now. The acting in this one is very solid. Most of the cast did a great job and made their scenes extremely fun to watch. Sadly, the acting is not consistent throughout the film. A very small number of the cast made their scenes awkward to watch to the point it was almost embarrassing. The story for this one is more of the same with something old mixed in to deliver something a little different. I have seen film after film combine existing horror elements to only fall short. With that being said, All Cheerleaders Die is able to combine those elements and pull them off. It is also refreshing to see the witch/magic angle in a modern horror flick. Slashers, zombies, and vampires are hogging up all the limelight while voodoo and witches sit idly in the back waiting for their turn. The film does suffer from several slow burning scenes that take away from the overall experience. Finally, the film has a lot of practical and visual effects both of which are great. The kills we get showcase amazing practical effects with the visual effects taking up the slack. Overall, All Cheerleaders Die is a sexy and bloody horror flick that deserves to be seen. I highly recommend it.
When I was in high school a few girls I knew absolutely loved the 2002 Lucky McKee film May. Personally, the film did not seem that interesting so I just never watched it. That was until the series Masters of Horror hit the scene and I watched McKee's episode for season 1 called Sick Girl. I really enjoyed that episode and decided to finally watch May. After watching it I now own the film on VHS and DVD so you can easily say I really enjoyed it. Sadly, I have forgot about McKee until recently when I caught wind that McKee was working on a new horror flick, All Cheerleaders Die. The film looked fun so I reached out for a screener copy and was lucky enough to secure one from Image Entertainment. The film follows a competitive cheerleading squad that are recovering from the accidental death of one of their own. Maddy (Stasey) joins the team leaving behind her friend that dabbles in witchcraft. Maddy joins the squad so she can get revenge on a football player and his popular goons. However, things turn sour once the football douche and his teammates swear off cheerleaders so they can focus on football. This leads to an altercation that causes the girls to lose control of their car and wreck. The girls die but Maddy's friend grabs their bodies and performs a ritual to bring them back to life by planting a glowing crystal inside them. The ritual works and the girls come back but at a cost. The girls now crave flesh and start feeding on the football players responsible until the football douche learns of their dark secrets. He sets his sights on the young girls killing them as he can and taking their crystals to make himself even more powerful. This forces Maddy to get her revenge against the douche or die trying. Lucky McKee is a director that we as horror fans better get used to seeing because he is a name that is not going anywhere. So many directors are known for their style or look that has become a sort of trademark of theirs. So many filmmakers have this and that is why most of them have so many die hard fans. However, McKee is not one of these filmmakers. McKee is able to adapt from film to film to give his fans, and random movie goers alike, a different experience. No two films are alike. This is a trait that will take him far in the horror scene. May was by far my favorite film of his but after watching All Cheerleaders Die, which is on polar opposites of the horror spectrum, I have a hard time picking my favorite now. The acting in this one is very solid. Most of the cast did a great job and made their scenes extremely fun to watch. Sadly, the acting is not consistent throughout the film. A very small number of the cast made their scenes awkward to watch to the point it was almost embarrassing. The story for this one is more of the same with something old mixed in to deliver something a little different. I have seen film after film combine existing horror elements to only fall short. With that being said, All Cheerleaders Die is able to combine those elements and pull them off. It is also refreshing to see the witch/magic angle in a modern horror flick. Slashers, zombies, and vampires are hogging up all the limelight while voodoo and witches sit idly in the back waiting for their turn. The film does suffer from several slow burning scenes that take away from the overall experience. Finally, the film has a lot of practical and visual effects both of which are great. The kills we get showcase amazing practical effects with the visual effects taking up the slack. Overall, All Cheerleaders Die is a sexy and bloody horror flick that deserves to be seen. I highly recommend it. 
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