2024 Movie
Dir. Josh Forbes · United States of America · English
A musician literally faces his creative demons as he tries to finish his long-gestating prog-rock album
It’s easy to classify Destroy All Neighbors as B-movie schlock; it unabashedly pays tribute to the low-budget comedy horror movies that pervaded the ‘80s. But it also feels too good for that. Elevated by funny bits, easy chemistry, solid production design, and a lightweight but easygoing script, Destroy All Neighbors never really wastes your time. It may confuse and drag at times, but there’s always an element that delights. As the straight man anchoring all the absurdity and gore surrounding him, Ray is also surprisingly likable. He connects easily to the colorful ensemble of characters in the film.
Destroy All Neighbors is stylish, trippy, nonsensical, and quite commendable in its creativity (the practical effects and prosthetics are the highlight). In all, it’s harmless good fun, just beware of the overflowing blood and guts!
William Brown, a neurotic, self-absorbed musician determined to finish his prog-rock magnum opus, faces a creative roadblock in the form of a noisy and grotesque neighbor named Vlad. Finally working up the nerve to demand that Vlad keep it down, William inadvertently decapitates him. But, while attempting to cover up one murder, William’s accidental reign of terror causes victims to pile up and become undead corpses who torment and create more bloody detours on his road to prog-rock Valhalla.
"You may not remember this movie beyond isolated quips and gestures, but those moments will stick in your mind given how much fun the on-camera performers seem to be having in each other’s company."
— Simon Abrams
William Brown (Jonah Ray) has been working on the same prog-rock album for years now, but he can’t seem to finish his work because of a multitude of reasons, not least of which are his demanding workload and annoying neighbors.
The analog feel of the whole film. From the neon lights and prosthetics to the lo-fi production and prog-rock sound that ties everything together, this is one of the more impressive entries in that genre of movies that feels like it’s genuinely from a different era.
This is further proof that you should never, under any circumstances, get on a nonconfrontational introvert’s last nerve.
Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She's also seen You've Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it's one of the greatest films out there.
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