"The Last Picture Show meets Friday the 13th"
by Scott Weinberg

SCREENED AT THE 2006 TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL: First-time writer/director team Jacob Forman and John Levine obviously grew up knee-deep in Halloween, F13s, and 250 other slasher flicks, because their "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" works as both a spooky, slimy throwback and as a deconstruction of the age-old teenaged stereotypes.

(Well, deconstruction AND destruction...)

As the flick's title clearly indicates, all the boys really love Mandy Lane. She's sweet, she's sexy, and she's stacked, and she's nice to everyone. The gal crosses all the high school demographics, and she does so in chaste-yet-jiggly fashion.

So when Mandy's invited to a weekend getaway with a quintet of typically one-note schoolmates, she figures it'll be a good opportunity to be accepted as a "normal gal" -- as opposed to a "figure of perfection."

Suffice to say that things don't exactly work out that way. Saddled with a crew that includes a jock, a stoner, a slut, a bitch, and a horny jerk, Mandy slowly begins to realize that she doesn't have much in common with her hard-drinking, pot-smoking, coke-snorting, sex-lovin' classmates. And then some mystery guest pops up and starts slashing everyone to ribbons.

Taken as a straight-faced and enjoyably grim throwback to the halcyon days of mid-'80s slasher-dom, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane works exceedingly well. But since those flicks weren't exactly swimming in character development, depth, or subtext, Forman & Levine have decided to play with the rules that we gorehounds know so well. There's some solid humor to be found in the flick, but don't let that fool you: "Mandy Lane" is true-blue horror all the way.

The filmmakers are supported by a surprisingly strong cast ("for this type of movie," I suppose), and leading lady Amber Heard is the doe-eyed anchor in a sea of devilry, debauchery, and death. Her co-stars do a fine job of bringing the typical stereotypes to life, each with their own small semblance of wit, color, or humanity. Hell, you might actually care when some of these victims meet their shrieking demise. And how often does that happen in a slasher flick?

Bringing a quietly artistic taste of teenaged sexual politics to a sub-genre that's generally disinterested in anything resembling brains or subext, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is what we call a "thinking man's slasher flick." Hell, it might just be the first one ever.

Plus the last ten minutes are icky, intense, and certifiably insane."