Spooky Season 2023: Dear David Review

Dear David is the newest horror film from Anna and the Apocalypse director John McPhail and is based on Buzzfeed writer Adam Ellis’ viral Twitter thread from 2017. After retaliating against Twitter trolls one night, Ellis (Prew) finds himself haunted by the specter of a boy named David at the mercy of demons. The film adaptation wasn’t welcomed with open arms when it was first announced, and unfortunately the initial hesitation towards it turned out to be the correct response because the film is a rough watch all around with very few redeeming qualities. Not only is it borderline unwatchable, it is quite possibly the worst film of 2023 thus far which is really saying something.

Despite being based on a Twitter thread that was actually chilling, effective and creative for the time, the film version of said thread is instead unscary, generic, and its consistent failed attempts at horror are often laughable. There isn’t a single second where the film is scary or creepy in the slightest, and there are times where it’s hard to tell if it is truly even going for straight horror due to how it is poorly handled for the most part following a third act where the wheels fully come off. Starting with a lazy opening scene that does a terrible job at establishing the atmosphere and setting the stage for what was to come, it somehow gets progressively worse with each passing minute, culminating with an abysmal ending and downright awful final scene.

That being said, the cast are all clearly trying therefore it is hard to blame any of them, especially considering the script they were working with. However, the film still features some of the worst acting of the year. Prew is merely okay as the lead though is let down by awful dialogue. While he does better with the smaller moments, it is the bigger moments where he becomes exposed. The writing isn’t great either with some lines of dialogue equivalent to hearing nails on a chalkboard. The film’s only redeeming quality is also the only member of the cast to come out completely unscathed, the always reliable Justin Long. As Bryce, he’s genuinely funny in an intentional way and makes every scene he’s in just a bit better by being there. In an otherwise miserable experience, Long is the sole bright spot and will likely bring a smile to most viewers’ faces even if he’s way too good to be anywhere near a film like this.

At the end of the day, Dear David completely fails as a horror film and is never once remotely scary, intense, or thrilling. It feels like reminiscent of the mediocre horror films from the mid 2000’s though not in a good way. The film’s central mystery isn’t very engaging or interesting and feels like something merely copying off of far better films. The ton of cheap looking digital effects also don’t help as they ruin the bigger moments and lesson their potential creepy factor. Though the film’s poster and premise, on paper, had the makings of a creepy and fun October watch, in reality, the final product is anything but, and if not for Justin Long it would have sank even deeper. It’s never fun walking into a horror film expecting something decent, especially when getting a film like this in return. As it stands, it is fighting with Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and the Children of the Corn remake for the top spot for the worst horror film of the year so far, but also the very worst film of the year overall.

still courtesy of Lionsgate

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/