Director Marcus Dunstan Talks ‘AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead’ [Interview]

AMFAD: ALL MY FRIENDS ARE DEAD, directed by Marcus Dunstan (“The Collector, The Collection”) and starring Jade Pettyjohn, JoJo Siwa, and Jennifer Enns, is now out in select theaters, digital, and on demand. It’s a fast-paced murder mystery for modern times, set against the backdrop of a music festival. You can check out a brief synopsis and trailer below.

“A group of college friends rent an Airbnb for the biggest music festival of the year. A weekend of partying quickly takes a turn as the group is murdered one by one.”

We recently had the opportunity to chat with Marcus about the film and what attracted him to the project!

Hi Marcus! So, let’s talk about this movie, AMFAD: ALL MY FRIENDS ARE DEAD!

Yeah, grateful to be a part of this one. It was a script from Josh Sims and Jessica Sarah Flaum, which, upon reading, felt like I was eavesdropping on some people I could recognize from my own life. Jessica and Josh had something to say about social media culture and how sometimes followers could become stalkers, could become arbiters of justice. How we offer our ideal selves through this vacant, 2×3, black window to nowhere, and they were like, “What if someone on the other side knew who you were, and there was a score to settle?” Then, I was also delightfully terrified to jump into what would be the first murder mystery I was a part of—with a hell of a twist. Ultimately, the thing I cherished the most and really wanted to protect was the heart of the story.

What can you tell us about the story? Without giving too much away?

Well, here’s what I love about the story: it starts, and we’re haunted by the events of twenty years before when there was this music festival, Karmapalooza, and this awful tragedy happened. These youngsters going to have the time of their lives ended up running afoul of the SDSK (The Seven Deadly Sins Killer). Twenty years later, it’s 2024, and Karmapalooza is coming back. So, surely, nothing could go wrong as we follow a group of kids on their way to celebrate that concert. A group of youngsters who are a tight-knit group of friends might have a secret and might just run afoul of someone who thinks it might be time for a reminder of the dark scales of justice.

What could possibly go wrong, right? The film stars Jade Pettyjohn, Jojo Siwa, and Jennifer Enns?

Yes. So, Jade Pettyjohn, can you imagine? Here is somebody with over ten years of experience in acting and is only in her early twenties. She and JoJo worked together on the “School of Rock” show. Seeing those two instantly match steps and find their rhythm again allowed us to really punch above our weight in terms of what we could get within our schedule. Every time you bring a piece of material into the production process, you’re adapting to the resources you have. Where we were abundant was in a talented, versatile cast. A cast that came with the skill sets for drama, comedy, and whatnot.

So, when you get to Jennifer Enns, who plays Mona, this is somebody who is nimble with so many tones, and there was a particular joke that I have been holding close to my chest for years, that I have wanted to see in one of these movies, and the tectonic plates came together, the moment was there, and because we were shooting in order, we could adapt and evolve and keep adding to these characters. In a proper murder mystery, you need all sides of the characters. To cast doubt upon them, to suspect them. There was an opportunity for this joke, this zinger, and thank goodness it landed. It was a joy. When we premiered at Tribeca to three sold-out nights, I waited for that joke to see how it would land, and courtesy of awesome cinematography by Andy Hodgson and the perfect edit by Andrew Coutts, it landed! I loved it!

The film was shot in Canada, is that correct?

Vancouver, yes. So beautiful. What I really adored about it was, not only is Canada the home of George Mihalko’s original “My Bloody Valentine,” which is a pretty doggone great slasher/murder mystery, but Vancouver specifically was the home to the first few seasons of “The X-Files.” I felt like we could bring some scares there.

What was it like on set with everybody? Did you guys keep it light? It looks like a fun movie.

We did. Thank you for asking that, because one of the responsibilities is like—directing is all of the above, but what I do hope to bring is the idea of being a bit of a social lifeguard. Let’s pick one shared enemy, and that enemy will be the clock. The clock will be very informative; it’s a straight line of communication; we know how much time we have. Then Julian Haig, who plays L.B., gathered the Vancouver cast together prior to shooting, so that they could work out their characters’ relationships and find their rhythm. You just simply can’t buy what that gives in the sense that when that clock starts, the soil has been laid, and you can grow these amazing, layered performances. You can find humor, and again—heart, in the most unlikely of places.

You keep mentioning heart. So, what was it that drew you to the project? There was clearly something.

Yes. One, it was a murder mystery where the twist genuinely got me. I’ve had to work on some twists before, and I’ve been part of some twists before, and I’m going to say the word “heart” again because once it had that, and there was the character of Collette, played by JoJo Siwa, which was a marvelous surprise, like a true voltage. She has to do a lot of heavy lifting with that character, to create that, to haunt, and to be the catalyst for our plot, and a lot of the ramifications that reveal the layer of our characters. So, they are not one-dimensional fodder. We’re voyeurs into a dark secret that’s unfolding.

What would you say was the biggest challenge that you ran into on set?

The biggest challenge was, we only had twelve days in Vancouver. We had one day back in Los Angeles, so then it was—how do we create the movie that we’re all seeing, how do we earn our chance at the silver screen? We want to see it big; all actors want to see themselves on that screen. Twelve days here, one day there, not enough. So, courtesy of Yolanda Macias and Brad Miska, I was able to put a big ol’ chunk of my salary back in, and they matched it. So, we were able to add five additional days.

Now, the intent. After reading Josh’s and Jessica’s script, after adapting to the resources, I now, in my head, saw something. With the critical help of Andrew Coutts, not only as an editor and storyteller, but he is also a gifted director and special effects maven. He was back up in Canada filming “Star Trek” for the world; we could not create the exact story we wanted. We wanted our kills to rival anything you would see on the other side. We had to one-up; the whole fabric of the movie had to accelerate as the stakes did, as the intensity did. As the laughter might drop your guard, to get in that next scare.

Then ultimately, to not stop entertaining, twisting and turning until the last images flicker out. So, I would beg anybody that comes to see it on the silver screen, or on demand, please stay through the credits. We’ve got more movie there, and it keeps twisting and turning.

If you had to sell me the film in one epic sentence, what would you say?

Okay, when #AMFAD: ALL MY FRIENDS ARE DEAD is unleashed on August 2nd, if this strikes your fancy, if getting a group of friends together, and going into the dark and sitting in front of a silver screen—if you would like to exorcise some of the fears and jitters, and the cold of life, for about 91 minutes, and maybe you want to be surprised with a wicked joke, and some humor, with some heart, and in the final twists and turns of a roller coaster experience that hits you with that twist you didn’t see coming and your heart emerges more full, if that is something you would be into, I would highly recommend #AMFAD: ALL MY FRIENDS ARE DEAD! (Laughing.)

That was great. (Laughing.) We really appreciate your time; it’s been a pleasure!

Thank you, and likewise!

You can check out #AMFAD: ALL MY FRIENDS ARE DEAD, in select theaters, on digital, or on demand now, courtesy of Cineverse!