The central friend group in Dead & Beautiful is the type to pull pranks on one another. Being young, hot, and born into insurmountable wealth, they take turns to wow each other with elaborately crafted and devious plans as to fill a void in their degenerate hearts. But the course of their macabre friendship takes a turn when the latest prank turns them into creatures of the night. David Verbeek’s Dead & Beautiful is a charming satire with some real teeth to it. It’s fascinating to watch the crew lean into their newfound vampire identities, adapting their Instagram influencing and rich kid debauchery to an even more soul-sucking way of life with a refreshing wit. Dead & Beautiful is sometimes more restrained than what you would expect from a class commentary that parallels an upper crust society with vampiric vultures—and its third act bites off a bit more than it can chew—but it’s ultimately grounded in its ensemble cast and sly sense of humor. 100 min.
Dead & Beautiful
