Written and directed by Joshua Grannell
Starring Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Dekker, Cassandra Peterson
Unrated
Running time: 98 minutes
On Blu-Ray from Severin Films June 10 and on Shudder June 12

by Matthew Crump, Staff Writer

Murder has never looked more fun than in All About Evil– that’s because it’s real. From the mind of director Joshua Grannell, AKA drag horror legend Peaches Christ, comes the re-release of the long lost cult film that would make Bette Davis clutch her pearls. After decades of hosting midnight movie events alongside some of the horror genre’s biggest stars, there’s no one more qualified to usher in the second coming of b-movies than Peaches Christ herself. With Natasha Lyonne leading the pack of queer film icons, All About Evil brings a particular brand of early 2000s schlock that will leave you debating whether to laugh or vomit.

Deborah Tennis (Natasha Lyonne) is a mousy librarian who, much to the disdain of her abusive mother, has recently inherited her late father’s movie theater in San Francisco. Just before a midnight screening of Blood Feast, little Debbie’s mother tries to bully her into signing over the theater, leading to a confrontation that ends with a matricidal tracheotomy. To make things worse, her projectionist (Jack Donner) has stepped out, so the panic-stricken Deb accidentally screens the video surveillance footage of the murder to the entire theater audience… and they love it.

This surprising onslaught of praise encourages Deb to embark on a clandestine killing spree in order to uphold the newfound fanbase of her directorial debut. After collecting a rag-tag group of degenerates to assist as her crew (Noah Segan, Jade and Nikita Ramsay), Deborah and her projectionist begin choosing their victims for increasingly minor infractions– including a particularly grisly attack on her library co-worker, Evelyn (Mink Stole), for banging on the theater’s front door instead of knocking.

As Deb makes her full descent into the crazed filmmaker known as “De-bore-ah,” her number one fan, Steven (Thomas Dekker), his friends, and even his mother, Linda (Cassandra Peterson), get wrapped up in the bloodshed. It’s with these characters that Grannell keeps the film morally grounded, using a few tongue-in-cheek lines and even cameos of his drag persona to remind the viewer that no one is really supporting any of Deb’s bad behavior. At the end of the day, the reason viewers are watching All About Evil is the same reason Deborah’s fans sell out her final show: we’re all just trying to have a little fun.

The presumable fun that was had on set is something that really seeps into the film’s final product. This might seem contradictory considering all of the “stars” locked up and rotting away in the theater attic, but even the most cynical of viewers will have a hard time escaping the movie’s charm. Grannell clearly makes the most of his background in film and stage production, hitting the same beats as all the best slasher films. It’s also refreshing to see a production comprised of creatives that are both queer and horror-friendly, a combination that is all too uncommon in most genre films.

While All About Evil delivers in the categories of campy and gory, certain scenes come across as conceptually and even physically wobbly. Some plot holes are more forgivable than others, one of which being how late into the film it takes the police to catch on to the murders. While a certain suspension of disbelief is warranted by a film of this caliber, what’s not warranted are a handful of tasteless scenes and jokes, e.g. one depiction of an asian hate crime and several references to school shootings that hold the film back from aging gracefully. Also, while it’s commendable to showcase such a large variety of filmmaking techniques in order to distinguish the main narrative from Deborah’s more guerillistic films, the cinematography does occasionally distract with shaky framing or bland composition.

Even so, under the direction of Grannell, Lyonne’s campy performance undoubtedly sees the most range— from meek librarian to megalomaniac movie-murderer— doing an exceedingly good job at channeling the kind of over-the-top performances seen in films like Mommie Dearest and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Cassandra Peterson, dropping her Mistress of the Dark persona and effectively going incognito, also excels with a convincing performance as the lovingly stern mother of Steven. Noah Segan is another stand-out from the film, proving he can wallow around in filthy drag just as well as any John Waters’ Dreamlander. 

What this micro-budget film lacks in airtight plotlines and technical prowess it makes up for in its unmistakable endearment for horror and the queer folks who gravitate toward it. But don’t be mistaken, straight fans are more than welcome to participate in the terror. The only prerequisite for watching All About Evil is to have an affinity for the horror genre, as many of the movie’s tropes and references might be lost on the average viewer. Well, that and rule #1 of drag: never take anything too seriously!

Ultimately, Joshua Grannell delivers the very stuff his famous midnight movie screenings are made of, securing both him and Peaches as haunted household names from now until eternity.