All Cheerleaders Die, 2013

A remake of their 2001 film of the same name, All Cheerleaders Die was created by Lucky Mckee and Chris Sivertson. The film is a horror comedy in the vein of something like Jennifer’s Body where it’s both mocking and celebrating the tropes of teen horror movies. The plot of All Cheerleaders Die is a bit crazy, but essentially a group of cheerleaders seek revenge on the group of football players who killed them. While the film may have the standard B-movie fare with cheesy effects, nudity, and gore, it also has something that makes it stand out from the pack, namely gay content. Dana Piccoli comments on the queer aspects of the film in her article from afterellen.com:

“No, it’s not specifically a lesbian movie, but three of the leading characters are queer ladies. Here’s where it gets good, and where All Cheerleaders Die kicks a lot of horror tropes right in the face: their queerness does not exist to titillate any of the male characters…or male audience members for that matter. It’s simply part of the story, and drives certain pivotal plot points” (2014).

Anthony Comella of Pop Mythology adds:

“Right off the bat we’re made aware that the main character Maddie is a lesbian and her ex-girlfriend Leena is also one of the main characters since she is the reason the story launches into action. Without Leena the story would have ended with all the girls dying. This film not only gives the women of the film power, but also the LBGT characters power. The film could have easily fallen into the generic horror “girls kissing girls because it’s hot” thing, but instead it has lesbian characters who are not defined by their sexuality but rather humanized” (2014).

While All Cheerleaders Die isn’t perfect by any means. It struggles with pacing, dialogue, and plot holes, but those items are lost in the sheer fun of the film. This was one of the most enjoyable films in the queer marathon, which is why I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good teen horror comedy.