Death Laughs Among Us: The Complete Works of John Schnall

John Schnall is an animator, cartoonist, artist… madman. There are a number of labels, endless in description, that I could use to define Schnall and they’d all be vaguely accurate in capturing the spirit of his work. But the best way to get an understanding of his work, truly, is to see it. Prior to reviewing Death Laughs Among Us, from VHShitfest and OCN Distribution, I had not heard of him. And now that I have, I’m glad to have gotten the opportunity to review this Blu-ray release. The job of the critic is to shine a spotlight on deserving, underseen media. Schnall’s animation is inventive and wholly unique in a way that all great art is: It opens a door into the creator’s mind and allows you to catch a glimpse, no matter how brief, of who they are.

One of the shorts assembled for Death Laughs Among Us includes “I Was a Thanksgiving Turkey” in which Schnall recorded his own family during a Thanksgiving get-together (plus additional voice recordings from friends), from the perspective of a turkey about to be devoured. Horrific, hilarious and somehow adorable in its homemade, hand-drawn aesthetic, it captures so much of his spirit in a short amount of time.

My personal favorite of the shorts that comprise Death Laughs Among Us is “Frankenstein”. It retells the classic story of a mad scientist who creates a living creature out of the bits and pieces of corpses exhumed from a cemetery, but only as a starting point. There is a rift between worlds, between this world, told in an animated style of still photos, and a cartoony world, vibrant in color, and how they collide.

The magic of animation is that every single frame of it is consciously created. Every corner of the frame is meticulously crafted for a specific purpose. The way a character walks, the way they talk, the jiggle of a roll of fat, or the flailing of a rubbery limb, are all pieces of acting that their characters embody. A 30-second animated short can have as much personality as an episode of a live-action television show.

Growing up, I loved making-of videos on how animated films and shows were created. One of my favorites was a segment on PBS about how the Wallace & Gromit films were created and how much work went into them. Death Laughs Among Us thematically and stylistically couldn’t be any different from those cheese-loving characters, but the spirit is similar, in how much love and attention has gone into these laborious productions. It’s hard not to think about watching a collection of shorts like this and not come away from it with a smile on your face. It’s just so charming and creative in how it all comes together.

Perhaps it’s appropriate that Death Laughs Among Us ends with Scnhall’s own personal favorite of his shorts, which is my least favorite, and apparently the least favorite of a lot of other people. This is Schnall’s work and he wants it to end on what he considers a bang. For me, it ended with a hint of sadness, and I’ve always enjoyed a bittersweet ending that makes me sad to see something close—those ending credit themes that make you wish your favorite show would come back on already. No matter your thoughts on the final segment, one thing is for sure, Death Laughs Among Us is a real gem, giving us a in-depth look at a creator who’s made some incredible art.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Death Laughs Among Us arrives on Blu-ray from VHShitfest and OCN Distribution in a single-disc Blu-ray release housed in a standard case. The front cover features art from John Schnall’s short films and the inside of the case has a wide piece of art, spanning from front to rear cover, spoofing Leonardo DaVinci’s famous “Last Supper” but with Schnall’s characters filling in for Christ and his disciples. 

Death Laughs Among Us is presented in 1080p high-definition video. I’m not able to find much information on the restoration process used for Schnall’s short films for this Blu-ray release, or if any restoration was performed, but it looks very good. OCN’s label, VHShitfest, isn’t generally known for high video quality and the few titles I’ve seen and reviewed have embraced a lower-quality video transfer that works well for them, emulating the look and feel of a hidden gem discovered on videotape. But Death Laughs Among Us looks great, almost like an outlier in their library. There is some dirt and debris, some speckles here and there, but the underlying image is quite sharp and Schnall’s artwork really gets a chance to pop and shine.

Death Laughs Among Us has the one audio option, which is a very formative DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo mix. Given that Schnall recorded much of the audio himself when creating these shorts, I’m not sure if any post-release tinkering had to be performed or if Schnall’s existing audio was good enough. But in either case, the end result for this disc release is great. These shorts have some terrific audio in them, with dialogue always coming through clearly. Schnall has a knack for getting great voice work from his casts and that really gets a chance to shine here. Other effects, Foley effects used for various sounds like stomping feet, or a couple removing their flesh to their bare skeletons as they make their way to sleep, are all integrated professionally.

Whether you’re an existing fan of John Schnall or, like me, this Blu-ray is your introduction to his work, there are a lot of special features that go into further detail on the artist’s life, refinement of work and where they are today. There’s an hour-long documentary about Schnall that’s about as good as the main feature and a must-see for anyone as taken with their creations as I was.

• Audio Commentary - With John Schnall
• Quality Schnallity: The Animation of John Schnall Documentary (HD 1:01:12)
• More Schnallity (HD 1:00:33) – Additional works by John Schnall, which also contain optional audio commentary from Schnall
• The Covid Years (HD 13:20)
• Explainer Videos (HD 20:18)
• Music Videos (HD 28:23)
• Archival Interviews (SD 27:13)
• Midnight Matinee Videos (HD 27:28)
• Dark Side of the Exorcist (Audio Only 1:00:50)
• The Telephone Jam Cassette (Audio Only 1:03:17)

Death Laughs Among Us is a wonderful collection of eccentric short, animated films from the imagination of John Schnall. VHShiftfest has given this collection an equally wonderful release, with excellent audio and video transfers, and a treasure trove of special features—hours and hours of supplemental material. Death Laughs Among Us is very Highly Recommended, and not just for animation nerds, for anyone.