If you’ve ever worked at or been to a restaurant, you know how to spot a Karen. Or – God forbid – you’ve been one yourself.
“We’re So Dead,” a new film from writer/director Ken MacLaughlin, takes every service industry workers’ fear of a Karen – or, a person with a certain amount of entitlement who might ask to “speak to a manager” at the slightest inconvenience – and amplifies it times one thousand. Taking place at a restaurant during the Christmas Eve shift, this horror comedy details a harrowing and hilarious sequence of events that begins with someone crying poor service and ends in murder.
“We’re So Dead” will premiere at the Plaza Theatre on Sept. 22. $2.13 – AKA, the wage that a waiter earns without tips – of the ticket price will go toward the nonprofit The Giving Kitchen, which helps food service workers through financial assistance and community resources.
MacLaughlin calls the movie “a film for the service industry and by the service industry.” MacLaughlin worked in the restaurant industry for years, parlaying that experience into viral videos about the trials and tribulations of being a server for the Atlanta-based Shift Drinks Comedy, and also working alongside Darron Cardosa (also known as The Bitchy Waiter).
When one of his creative partners had an idea for making a film about a Killer Karen and wanted MacLaughlin to direct, he initially balked at the idea. But after sleeping on it, he decided to jump on board on one condition: it had to be really, really silly.
And silly and fun it is! Filled with jokes and splatter galore, “We’re So Dead” is able to capitalize on familiar tropes of restaurant life while still finding ways to ground the characters in some sort of reality. The film stars Jenna Kanell (an actor with a plethora of horror experience under their belt in films like “Terrifier”) as Ashley, a restaurant industry veteran on the verge of collapse. Other actors include Aria Celeste Castillo as a server who’s constantly on a smoke break, Olivia Tiedemann as an angry chef, Kevin Saunders as a kind-hearted manager trying to keep it all together, and Cardosa – The Bitchy Waiter in the flesh – as a condescending bartender.
When casting the film, MacLaughlin said they wanted to strike a good balance of actors who could go big, but also find a way to ground a movie that – for as much as Karen (Leanna Adams) drives the plot – is really about a restaurant family just trying to make it through the night.
Producer Michael Sokol added that because the filmmaking team was working on an indie budget, they were also looking for talented actors with a built-in audience.
“A lot of the things that were going to help sell the movie, especially when you can’t afford a big Hollywood marketing budget, is to have people that bring an audience,” Sokol said. “That didn’t mean we just wanted anybody with a TikTok page. We got really talented cast members that also had an audience.”
“We’re So Dead” was funded through a regulation crowdfunding campaign on WeFunder, a platform that allows those donating to businesses to act as investors with the opportunity to make money back if the business in question does well. According to a press release, most of the seed money came from restaurant workers.
“It was important for us to not just do a traditional crowdfunding, where you just gave money,” Sokol said. “If [they] were giving money, we wanted them to participate in the success of it.”
Both MacLaughlin and Sokol said that support from the restaurant community has been overwhelming. According to MacLaughlin, before moving into production on the full film, they put a proof of concept short film online. The film was free, but anybody watching could give a tip if they felt so inclined. They made $10,000.
MacLaughlin credits Cardosa and his audience for helping drive that campaign, but said it was gratifying to feel like “We’re So Dead” was reaching its intended audience.
“It’s great to know that you have a talent that people can respect and appreciate, but it’s also great knowing you connected to people,” he said. “You listened, you understood, you made connections, you shared humor. You were able to give them what they wanted.”
Instead of a traditional festival run, Sokol said that after the Sept. 22 premiere, the hope is to take “We’re So Dead” on a “road show,” playing at different theaters for as many restaurant workers as possible. Both Sokol and MacLaughlin said they would be open to a traditional distribution deal, but they have bigger goals in mind.
“If a distributor came along, we want to be well positioned for that. We want to make it easy on them to market it. But getting distribution is definitely not the end all be all for us,” Sokol said. “The goal is to really take it directly to the audience members.”