Dead Kids (3/5) – Netflix Movie Review

DEAD KIDS is a new Netflix thriller from the Philippines. The core characters are teenagers but the story is pretty heavy. The title doesn’t refer much to the plot since this is a term for outsiders. Read more about this new Netflix movie in our full Dead Kids review here!

Dead Kids is a new Netflix thriller. It’s a movie from the Philippines and it’s by the filmmakers that recently gave us Eerie. A movie that received some infamy due to the good old “this movie is so scary, I had to sleep with the lights on”-comments.

It didn’t have that kind of effect on me at all, but it did have some interesting elements. Also, it’s on Netflix now!

Don’t miss: Our review of the Filipino Netflix horror movie Eerie here >

Find out more about the new Netflix movie from the same director in the rest of our Dead Kids review below.

Don’t worry about the language barrier

If you haven’t watched a movie from the Philippines, then please don’t let any language barrier stop you. Sure, they do speak lines that you would not understand without subtitles. However, I would guesstimate that at least 50% of all lines spoken are in English.

On top of that, many English words are used when full English sentences are not said. Finally, quite a lot of Filipino (the language) has words that sounds very close to Spanish. Hell, even their currency is called “pesos”, so you can guess that this isn’t a coincidence.

Since the story in Dead Kids focuses on teenagers, even more lines of dialogue are spoken in English, so you can easily keep up without reading any subtitles. Though obviously, I would recommend keeping an eye on the subtitles as well so you don’t miss important details.

A great core cast

I wasn’t familiar with any of the actors in Dead Kids and if you’re not familiar with Filipino movies or TV series, you probably won’t be either. Fortunately, this isn’t necesary to find the story interesting and engaging. The term “dead kids” refers to those who are outsiders and practically “invisible” to the popular kids.

However, this isn’t your traditional “Outsiders vs Popular kids” story. There is a lot more to the plot which is what makes Dead Kids a thriller.

For the record, you should recognize actress Gabby Padilla if you’ve watched Eerie. She is the only actor from the core cast who has been in both movies. Another person from Eerie to work on Dead Kids is the cinematographer, Mycko David. 

Watch Dead Kids on Netflix now!

The new Netflix thriller Dead Kids was directed by Mikhail Red, who also directed Eerie as mentioned at the beginning of this review. To me, both of these thrillers do feel longer than their actual runtime. For example, Eerie has a runtime of just 98 minutes and it still feels a bit long.

However, it does cover a lot of important and interesting subjects on top of being a quite efficient thriller. In other words, if you tend to enjoy stories featuring characters on their way to college, then give this new thriller a chance.

Dead Kids is out on Netflix worldwide from December 1, 2019.

Details

Director: Mikhail Red
Stars: Sue Ramirez, Khalil Ramos, Markus Paterson, Jan Silverio, Vance Larena, Kelvin Miranda, Gabby Padilla

Plot

A socially awkward teen bonds with a group of misfits who plot to abduct the school’s arrogant rich kid – until their kidnapping scheme turns deadly.