TOTALLY KILLER: Our review on the new Amazon Prime movie

At the start of October, there is nothing better than a good horror film with a very Gen Z sense of humor to get you straight into the bloody Halloween mood! So let’s play ‘Totally Killer’ for a good dose of hemoglobin and entertainment.

THE SUMMARY IN A FEW WORDS:

The story begins on Halloween night in a small American town. Young Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) is determined to attend a concert, while her anxious mother tries unsuccessfully to dissuade her. And with good reason: the town is haunted by the memory of a masked serial killer known as the “Sweet Sixteen Killer”, who savagely murdered three teenage girls over Halloween 34 years ago. Later that evening, the whole town witnesses the return of the infamous murderer, who seems to have come back to complete his macabre work. Jamie finds herself thrust back into the 80s, when her parents were teenagers. She is forced to team up with the younger version of her mother (Olivia Holt) and father (Charles Gillespie) to stop the murderer, save their friends and, above all, not change her present too much.

WHEN ‘BACK TO THE FUTURE’ MEETS ‘SCREAM’:

Directed by Nahnatchka Khan, the film contains all the ingredients of a typical slasher movie: a killer with a hidden face targets a group of young people, methodically eliminating them one by one with knives. There are also a number of direct references that inspired the film, such as ‘Back to the Future‘, ‘Scream’ and ‘Halloween’. So there is nothing very innovative here, and the staging is equally classic. It’s easy to guess when the screamers are coming. The movie’s added bonus is surely the ‘Riverdale‘-style plunge back into the ’80s, with all the adult characters from the beginning of the film back at the age when they were still in high school. As the eighties have been in vogue for some time, it is a pleasure to let ourselves be guided once again through this era, albeit a little seen and reviewed and perhaps a little under-exploited in this work. However, the atmospheres are well executed, such as the haunted house at the funfair. What’s more, for a comedy movie, the humor is light but not too easy either, and we laugh heartily, as in the sports class scene, for example. The movie does not take itself too seriously. It is by no means perfect, and the story of the time machine is perhaps the film’s biggest flaw. But if you can get past the simplicity of the script, you will have a pretty good time.

In conclusion, nothing very original, but the movie will still appeal to fans of “soft” horror who will be able to spend an evening on the theme of Halloween without headaches. ‘Totally Killer’ will be available on Amazon Prime from October 6!