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Parents' Guide to

Dead Kids

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Endless iffy teen behavior in dark Filipino thriller.

Movie NR 2019 98 minutes
Dead Kids Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 18+

Based on 1 parent review

age 18+

You need to read between the lines

This movie Is not suitable for people with shallow understanding. Lot of symbolism that is actually happening in our society. The end of the movie didnt give justice to janine who is apparently a victim of gang rape by chuck’s group that if you didnt understood the movie properly, you will miss where that part was realized. The connections will always win even when you are the main culprit. And the ones who are right will always end up to be the victim. The end symbolises that when you’re gone, life still will go on. Cheers!

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

This is one of those teen movies that seems to positively revel in and exaggerate any and all bad behavior from teenagers. While Dead Kids makes somewhat of a comment on teenage cliques, popularity, bullying, peer pressure, and the income gap between the rich and the poor, all of this often gets lost in the over-the-top bad behavior. Teens curse in practically every line of dialogue, binge-drink until they vomit, brag about alleged sexual acts, visit massage parlors to pay for sex acts. Meanwhile, the adults tend to be oblivious, homophobic, and making their living in the criminal underworld. Based on true events, the sheer nihilism of it all tends to overwhelm any potential takeaways.

The acting is very good across the board, in spite of all the gratuitous excess. It's a pitch-black thriller where the darkness and the occasional self indulgence supersedes the story. For instance, in one scene, the unpopular "Dead Kids" suddenly stand up to some of their bullies in the cafeteria, which leads to a food fight between all the students in the cafeteria. There's no real reason for this scene to be in the movie, as it doesn't really advance the story or establish anything new about the characters. The movie is full of moments like these that come off as being done just because. This excess turns what might have been a memorable and unique movie into just the latest in a decades-long series of "teen juvey" films.

Movie Details

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