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Review: Dinner with the Dwyers

13266099_1020179298031066_1389551758199034771_nThere’s nothing scarier than real life horror and in this case I think everyone is filled with dread at the idea of meeting their significant other’s parents. What level of comfort should you enter with as to give them a healthy dose of your real personality? What do you wear? What are safe subjects to discuss? What if you fail to impress the parents of your boyfriend or girlfriend because you haven’t quite lived up to their expectations… as a killer. Yeah, Dinner with the Dwyers will strike a relate able cord with all viewers and it does it with a particularly endearing dose of horror and comedy.

Dinner with the Dwyers was invited onto my screen by a cornucopia of specialized talent. The short film was co-written, directed and executively produced by Edward Payson with co-writer and co-producer Marv Blauvelt. Maureen Whelan also served as co-producer and Trevor Wright co-wrote the film which was DP’ed by James Goodwin and edited by Brandon Scullion. Starring cast members consist of Jared Degado, Felissa Rose, Marv Blauvelt and Tiffani Fest with featured appearances by Maria Olsen, Brad Potts, Elissa Dowling, Michelle Tomlinson and Kevin Caliber.

Every family has its baggage and every family does its best to cover that up when meeting someone new. The Dwyers give off the illusion of the perfect existence – a refined house, dynamic looks, the perfect daughter – when in reality they’re a bunch of psychopaths who are beyond damaged. That damage starts almost right off the bat with Felissa Rose pawing away at Jared Degado, the on-screen relationship being that of a mother going after her daughter’s boyfriend. Felissa Rose starred in one of the most iconic slasher films of the 1980’s, Sleepaway Camp, and over three decades later I think it’s awesome that she’s playing these crafty, sultry types of roles. She’s as on point and talented as ever, and with all due respect, she’s pretty good looking, too! Watching Felissa flirt in that tight red dress is enough to make any man (or woman) want to watch Dinner with the Dwyers!

Dinner with the Dwyers is a wild, off-brand comedy of sorts. The idea that there is a family of serial killers who are so open and honest about their wrongdoings is an enjoyable change in dynamic, especially when we’re used to seeing the psychos as dirty, tainted and quiet. The idea of charming and educated serial killers is expanded upon again in a few different ways, most noticeably through the use of social media and Ebay themed websites aimed directly at spree killers; another interest plot point that I was absolutely in love with. Between the near constant bickering, the near constant flirting, the cursing, the violence, the death, there’s a whole world that came into existence based on the script by Payson, Blauvelt and Wright. It’s thoroughly enjoyable, chuckle worthy and beats the pants off of any episode of “The Jerry Springer Show.” My only critique is that I would get rid of that fuckin’ laugh track. It kind of kills the comedy that’s already very present.

Dinner with the Dwyers is a horror-comedy done right; one that’s well cast and well produced. In between the violence and gags, you’ll find a budding romance film, too, though it inevitably ends up with more violence. This short film also contains one of the best lines of slander that I plan on using in my every day life – “You’d suck a dick for a diet coke!” Classy, bloody and rambunctious, Dinner with the Dwyers is definitely a date I’d make again and again. Final Score: 8 out of 10.  

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Michael DeFellipo

(Senior Editor)

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