TOTALLY KILLER (2023)

TOTALLY KILLER (2023)

Tagline: Murder is so 1987.

(Horror, Comedy, Can You Please Just Watch Back To The Future) [R]

Let’s give it up for Angie who wishes there were more people killed.

In this one, we are taken to a small town obsessed with “The Sweet 16 Killer” who killed 3 girls in 1987. On Halloween, in 2023 Pam Hughes is killed by a masked assailant wearing the same mask as “The Sweet 16 Killer”. Her daughter Jamie just happens to know a young genius Amelia who developing a time machine. After a series of incidents, Jamie is sent to 1987 to try and stop the killer and save her mom. Is it too late? 

First off, I can’t be the only one thinking this. The mask the killer wears looks exactly like a young Joe Biden. Not sure if that was intentional or not. I am sure it’s probably meant to be someone else, but sorry, it’s basically a young Joe Biden mask. Another thing that stood out is the fact that Jamie struggled so much with 80’s culture. I am not sure how everyone is going to take this aspect of the film, but for Gen X, it’s pretty damn funny. It just goes to show you how far society has dumbed down kids these days and celebrated fragility rather than just being a straight-up bad a-s that can handle whatever comes their way without considering it some imaginary micro or macro offense. In this movie though, that concept alone makes it worth a watch and just brings a ton of charm to Jamie’s character who probably thought she knew everything when the film started. We do get some fantastic character growth for her, which is great because when this thing starts out, I wanted to trade in Jamie for another character to take us on this adventure. 

Having said that, I really didn’t like Kiernan Shipka (FAN GIRL) in this as Jamie. If you were going to remake THE FINAL GIRLS using a time machine this time around why not just get Taissa Farmiga to play the lead? I compare the two films somewhat lightheartedly, but both are similar in tone and plot which is probably why I like this thing so much. This thing is loaded with great sets including one of the most sinister doll-related horror attractions I have ever seen at a fair. Any movie taking us back to the 80s automatically gets extra credit. It’s freaking fantastic. This thing has an absolutely glorious soundtrack. It’s awesome that Jamie’s mom had a group of friends in high school that called themselves "The Molly’s", do to all of them having an infatuation with Molly Ringwald. The fact that one of the time machines is an arcade game is epic. I love that the bathroom pass is a plunger. I could go on and on and on because this flick is just awesome overload. 

Acting wise we get a pretty fantastic cast. Olivia Holt (Cloak And Dagger) crushes it as Pam Miller. Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson (LET’S SCARE JULIE) plays Lauren Creston. She is one of those types of friends everyone wishes they had. She is by FAR my favorite character in this freakin thing. Stephi Chin-Salvo (iZombie) plays Marisa in this and is decent by not great. Ella Choi is pretty good as Kara. Julie Bowen (HUBIE HALLOWEEN) is great in the scenes she’s in but doesn’t get a ton of screen time. We also have a Liana Liberato (HAUNT, SCREAM VI) sighting. She has been showing up in several horror flicks lately starting to solidify her status as a scream queen. 

Overall the humor in this works on almost every level. I definitely see myself buying this when it comes out on BLU-RAY. This thing is not without a few flaws though, some of the motive stuff doesn’t make a ton of sense, but it’s a full-blown comedy horror film and it leans squarely into this even mentioning in the film how time travel movies are always weird. I can’t think of enough flaws to give this anything but a 7 out of 7. 

The message here is that living in today’s eggshell world where everything you say is analyzed for sterility and agenda is far less fun, than living in a world where everyone was just allowed to be honest, brutal, kind, passionate, fierce, and real. Then you decided if you were going to cry about it, or get off the ground and overcome. 

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