One of Netflix's newest original movies, Dead Kids, is the platform's first original release from the Philippines and centers around a fictionalized account of a real kidnapping that occurred in 2018.
Dead Kids follows a group of outcast teenagers, 'Dead Kids', who conspire together to commit a kidnapping, hopeful that a large ransom for the crime will aid both their financial and social standing. The film's director, Mikhail Red, is internationally known for his other films, Birdshot, Eerie, and Neomanila. Dead Kids is a crime thriller featuring unlikely kidnappers and explores a darker side of the classic "coming of age" tale along with status and wealth gaps in the Philippines. The 27-year-old director said his motivation behind the film was to explore the complexities of his generation as well as dig into the social climate of his home country. Dead Kids' focus on social media and how life has changed when kids are practically being raised by the Internet provides an interesting backdrop for a thriller, and is paved by Red's use of local actors.
After his many accolades for Birdshot and other works, Red debuted Dead Kids to his largest audience yet, bringing Filipino cinema to the streaming giant's global audience on December 1st.
Dead Kids Mixes True Crime With Teen Drama
Equal parts crime thriller and teen drama, Dead Kids shows the disparity of an adolescent society now vs. before technology became more than a privilege, but a way of life. Starring Sue Ramirez, Khalil Ramos, Vance Larena, Kelvin Miranda, and Markus Paterson, audiences will be wowed at Red's depiction of a world that lacks adult supervision, so much that the teenagers who are featured in the film seem to band together like a group of outlaws. This lack of adult guidance is likely part of what leads the ragtag group of misfits to get involved in a kidnapping scheme. Their target, Chuck Santos, is their school tormentor whose father happens to be a wealthy drug lord. In the movie, the group suspects they can ask a high price for his ransom, particularly if Santos is roughed up along the way. It's certainly darker than its introductory, The Breakfast Club vibes might suggest, especially when their kidnapping goes south and ends up turning bloody and tragic for some of those involved. Dead Kids is more violent than the true crime, but fiction commonly uses a more extreme lens to drive home a point.
Dead Kids' True Story Had A Real-Life Plot Twist
The true story behind Dead Kids involves a 19 year old college student who was kidnapped by his peers. The student attended Colegio de San Juan de Letran, a private Catholic university in Manila. His captors marked him for a ransom of P30 million, which is the equivalent of about $600,000 USD. Gomez was discovered by police in a small room with his eyes covered and limbs bound by duct tape. He was kidnapped alongside one of his classmates while they were waiting for the light rail in Manila.
According to his testimony, they were taken by "more or less" 6 unidentified suspects, all male, who were armed and shoved them into a car. A twist to the crime was revealed when police discovered the victim's classmate who was kidnapped alongside him, Jhulius Atabay, was released by their kidnappers after they arrived at an undisclosed location and made a phone call for ransom money. Atabay turned out to be the mastermind behind the entire event and ended up revealing the names of his accomplices to police under pressure. In total, four were arrested for the crime, with six other suspects still at large during the time of their arrest. Most of the suspects in the real crime came from affluent families, and the kidnapping was blamed on a fraternity initiation.
Overall, it didn't seem as thought out or involved as the Dead Kids' adaptation, but makes for an interesting story.