Totally Killer (2023)

 

Genre: Horror/ Comedy

Time: 1h 46mins

Director: Nahnatchka Khan

Quick Summary: When the infamous "Sweet Sixteen Killer" returns 35 years after his first murder spree to claim another victim, 17-year-old Jamie accidentally travels back in time to 1987, determined to stop the killer before he can start.

You know what this was pretty fun actually. It's as if someone mixed Back To The Future and Scream together. 

I think one of the funniest parts to me was that the lead, "Jamie", constantly criticises how life was in the '80s, such as how easy it was to just walk into a school and find a student with no verification for who she was, the use of homophobic slurs, and just how generally reckless they all were. Sometimes, it felt a little forced and I groaned at a few, but for the main part, they were funny. 

I did really like the lead, She does a great performance and her character is very likeable and extremely funny. Everyone else in the movie is also quite good, but honestly, they're a little bit forgettable. I don't really remember what anyone else really did, but I don't think the performances were awful at all.

The chase scenes were quite tense and I enjoyed watching them, but I wish we saw more of the killer. He kind of just popped up every so often to move the story along. Maybe if we had more scenes of watching him stalk his victims or of him finding a way into buildings. Just to add more tension to this film, as honestly, it was lacking a lot in it. It was fun and all, but really lacking on the "horror" scary side sadly. 

As well there are a lot of plot holes within this that I won't talk about as spoilers, but they're actually really messy when you think about them, especially in the end. Also, the reveal of the killer felt very quick. Almost like they wanted to get it over and done with. It was just pretty anti-climatic. 

I think it nailed the 80's aesthetic pretty well so that it wasn't so stereotypical but still instantly recognisable. Especially with the costumes. Admittedly, I wish it spoke more in-depth about time travel and how it actually worked, but that is just a personal gripe.

This is a fun slasher that is nice and easy to watch. I wouldn't call it anything special or new, as it follows a lot of tropes that previous films do, and references a lot of films before it. I still enjoyed it regardless.

6/10