Destroy All Neighbours (2024)

 

Genre: Horror/ Comedy

Time: 1h 25mins

Director: Josh Forbes

Quick Summary: Struggling prog-rock musician William Brown finds himself in a living nightmare when he accidentally kills Vlad, the neighbour from hell.

Silly and odd, but fun.

Maybe this was a little bit too wacky and over the top for my taste, but I wouldn't call this bad. It's not bad at all, just a bit much, like it's trying too hard to be actually funny. I'd find I'd laugh at some things, cringe at some, and question why the same joke is being repeated. More than twice. There was this one running joke throughout that the people he kept "killing" were accidents and were actually fans of his favourite genre of music. This was funny and clever in the first person, but then when it got to the third, what a surprise. But regardless, there are funny moments during this that did get laughs out of me and helped improve the experience of this strange film. 

I actually have no idea how to describe the story as it is so bizarre and all over the place. One moment we're watching this guy being accidentally killed and then we're watching a prog-rock battle with the devil on double-headed guitars. 

For a horror film, I have seen better special effects, but this actually holds up. I loved how well the headless guy was shown with actual bloody fleshy bits on his neck and not just obviously stuck upright to hide the body under a table or something. My personal favourite was the electrified skeleton lady who actually rattled when she moved, and was incredibly rigid. The lighting I also found really funky, almost 80's party lights with blue and pink made from really fun visual moments. 

As for the characters themselves, they were okay. The main guy and the first victim I despised as they were so obnoxious and irritating, also incredibly vile with the things we would be saying. I was sick of listening to the headless guy so much he actually made my head hurt when he spoke. As for the main guy, just ugh. I'm surprised he even had a girlfriend in the first place he was that insufferable. Everything about these two was so over the top. 

In fact, this film reminds me of the old 2000s rock music videos where things would be so over the top and extra just to add flair. Just imagine it stretched out to be an hour and twenty minutes, and we don't really hear too much prog-rock music. Which is funny for a film about a guy trying to be a musician.

Complaints aside, this is fun, a bit brainless at times, but fun. I don't think it was my own personal taste but I can see why some people might like this, almost stoner humour, oddball, horror/comedy. It's almost like a drug trip of a film, but a bad one, but then everything is funny for some reason. Maybe I expected something else from this, probably something more serious would have helped the story.

5/10

"William Brown: You. You ruined my life.

Vlad: I ruined your life? Asshole. You decapitated me.

Auggie: Well he's got you there man."