Jonathan Levine’s All the Boys Love Mandy Lane has finally gotten a release Stateside after what felt like an eternity. Now that horror fans can get their hands on Levine’s teenage slasher, will it live up to the hype? There’s a lot of things that All the Boys Love Mandy Lane tries to do right but it unfortunately falls under a curtain of cliches and terrible characters that it ends up digging its own grave that only gets deeper and deeper as the movie goes on. The film follows a group of high-schoolers who invite Mandy Lane, “a good girl” who becomes the object of everyone’s affection after returning from summer break, to a weekend party on a secluded ranch. While the festivities rage on, the number of revelers begins to mysteriously drop one at a time.
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane had some solid ideas going into its story but it suffers from trying way too hard to be a horror film instead of just trying to set itself apart from the rest. Other than the ending, which was a decent enough twist, everything else is in the film is so mediocre it hurts. From the cast of teenage douchebags to girls falling down for no reason while being pursued by their eventual killer, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is so cliche that it almost feels like they did it on purpose. Anytime I hear a character in a horror movie say, “C’mon [insert name here], this isn’t funny anymore!”, I cringe. It’s just so damn typical that it hurts my brain, and All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is littered with moments like that.
I really wanted to love this one, especially after such a long wait, but damn was it hard to find anything to really enjoy about it. Even the characters in the film left a lot to be desired. I spent just as much time in high school as everyone else and I never once met a single person act half as full of shit as these characters. They are so unbelievable that instead of caring about them, you just hope for their death as soon as possible so you don’t have to see them anymore.
And the final nail in Mandy Lane’s coffin was the uninspiring kills that the film had to offer. You see plenty of people bite the dust but none of them go in any way that’s even remotely exciting or intense. If you’re not seeing someone get shot, they are probably getting stabbed… and that’s about it. At the end of the day, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is just the same old stuff we’ve all seen time and time again. It didn’t age very well and unfortunately wasn’t worth the long wait. The ending was surprising and a lot of fun but everything else was about as bland as it gets. And while this one may have been a dud in the horror genre, Levine has since gone on to direct some fantastic films and will no doubt lead one hell of a career.
Ah man, I really want to see this one, but your review is discouraging me lol.
I know man, I hate to give it a negative review because I was really excited to see it. It’s just so-so in my book.
I figured as much. The hype was all hype. I’ll check it out on Netflix one day down the road.
Yea, unfortunately the seven years didn’t do the film many favors other than build hype. It’s worth checking out but don’t expect to be blown away.
Aww bummer. I suppose there had to have been a reason for all of the delays. This is disappointing.
I know! You should still give it a watch, it’s not necessarily a bad movie, just a generic one is all.
I guess I’ll be avoiding this one or waiting for it on Netflix. Bummer.
Sorry man! Hate to turn people away from a film because there are definitely people out there who enjoyed this one. A netflix watch is definitely a smart move tho.
Ignore him John, this movie is great!! :)
Aaaahhhh. you’re tearing me apart! You say it’s great, he says it’s so-so!! Well, what is it?
James Dean just rolled over in his grave.
lol! Decisions decisions!
Lol
Definitely I’m right!! I’d link my review but I’m not a fan when people do it on my site, so I wont offend Ryan, but Im pretty sure other people had seen it and liked it in my comments. That might swing you ;)
Well there you go Jmount, the fate of Mandy Lane rests on your shoulders!
I want to reply to everyone and say how wrong you are!! Haha, this is a great movie man, surprised to hear you don’t like it. :)
Haha go for it. That means more comments! I really wanted to like it man. Maybe if I saw it 7 years ago when it was made I would have felt differently. For today though, it just doesn’t cut it I’m sorry to say.
Ryan, I understand what you mean. I watched this movie after having it highly recommended, and I honestly thought it to be an okay watch but nothing to rave about and nothing to write home about. I really enjoyed your review, and it sucks that it let you down so terribly!
Yea disappointing sums it up perfectly. It’s not so much the film’s fault as it is the amount of time it took to release. I may have liked it more a while a go. It didn’t hold up very well at all.
I agree, and you were really looking forward to it!
I also saw this with high hopes and was equally disappointed. As you say, it has some great ideas, but sadly they never cohere into anything beyond mediocrity.
Yea man that’s exactly right. It was just trying way too hard to be something it wasn’t. Thanks for stopping by!
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