Sorry, We’re Dead 2024 (Aqlex Productions) Review

Sorry, We're Dead is a relatable film if you ever had to balance your corporate life with your artistic pursuits. The film centers around Lana Jing, who is just trying to survive her everyday boring lecture recording job when trying to submit her screenplays. She has to battle rejection, overcoming the odds and standing up for herself during her journey. Being a artist these days is not easy.

At least the chicken made it to the poster. 

The film is also quite meta with its writing and editing style, which if you are a filmmaker or have knowledge of film I'll think more of the jokes will land for you. There are some good gigs and creative bits. One cool moment involves the use of stop motion animation, and the film is not afraid to play around with different styles. To give you an idea of the humor, there is a bit where the main character saids she can't focus and then we cut to an out of focus shot on her computer. 

However, the meta jokes and humor get a tad overused at the expense of the story. The main plot of the story is a bit of a lair reveal trope as Lana accidentally destroys a hard drive at the start of the film and her coworker gets blamed for it and is about to get fired. When it's time for the climax and you expect her to redeem herself, the film just kinda glosses over it and tries to wrap things up. It feels anticlimactic. 

Lana trying to find some inspiration in the park. 

There are some also loose plot threads that seem to get set up but don't really go anywhere. There is a bit of a secret admirer subplot that lacks any impact and Katherine Park's character "Bertha", doesn't get enough screen time to really build her character. There is also a part where her roommate apologizes for drinking, but I don't think it was ever revealed that she had a drinking problem or was drunk?

Sarah Lee's performance as a moody depressed goth girl is fantastic though, she bounces off well with her coworker played by Davied Morales who is a goofy and quirky dude. The rest of the cast is very solid and they are deliver a performance which does not break the immersion of the film. 

For a first outing, this is a very solid film for Alex Zajicek. If you like laid back comfy comedy dramas about struggling artists, check it out. There is also a bit of a chicken obsession with two of the characters. Also the jazzy soundtrack is great and add’s the strange artistic vibe the film has going on.