Sommerleigh Pollonais, Horror Head Writer
Plot: A female serial killer escapes from prison to go after the one victim that got away.
Review: Written and directed by Michael Morrissey, The Girl Who Got Away boldly blurs the lines between horror and thriller, while delivering on a very entertaining whodunit.
The film stars Lexi Johnson as Christina, a young woman who survives the unthinkable by escaping a serial killer named Elizabeth Caulfield (Kaye Tuckerman). She had kidnapped and murdered four little girls with Christiana being the only one who escaped. Years later and Christina has settled into a good life as a teacher and plans to adopt a teenaged girl, hoping to help someone in a way she wasn’t.
Her world gets upturned when Elizabeth escapes from custody and cuts a bloody trail towards her, the girl that got away. As the bodies begin to pile up, Officer Jamie Nwosu (Nigerian actor Chukwudi Iwuji), who is assigned to keeping Christina safe, begins to dig deeper into what happened all those years ago. And as long buried secrets are revealed one begins to wonder, is Christina keeping the darkest secret off all?
The slow burn pace might not be for some folks and I’ll admit I don’t think this movie needed to be two hours long, but that said, I quite enjoyed this thriller. And I would go as far as to say it’s one of the better ones I’ve seen this year (so far).
The story is set against the backdrop of a Mid-Western town (the kind of place that seems perpetually cold and isolated) which is the perfect setting for what unfolds. Actors Lexi Johnson (The Nice Guys, This is Us) and Chukwudi Iwuji (John Wick Part 2, When They See Us) are the main focus and do a wonderful job of carrying this movie on their shoulders. The cast isn’t a huge one but everyone else is fine in their roles.
The story itself is very well-written and even when you think you know what’s going on here, Morrissey manages to flip the script in a way that feels original and smart. Like most fans of this genre, I love a good mystery and I really thought I had it all figured out. Turns out I wasn’t (although I got part of it right) and anytime a movie can catch me off-guard like this, I’m a happy camper.
The kills are very effective as well. Gruesome, but not over the top, and with a solid sound design that sells the brutality and then some. Another aspect of this story that helped it stand out from most similar thrillers was the antagonist. Female killers are rare in these types of movies and female serial killers even more so. Actress Kate Tuckerman (The Matrix Reloaded) who plays the lethal Elizabeth feels like a true force to reckon with, her opening scenes taking their inspiration from none other than Michael Myers of Halloween fame. My only disappointment is we didn’t have enough of her on screen. But when she’s there, you WILL believe this sixty-something year-old woman could whoop an ass and then some!
Like I mentioned before, the runtime here is a bit problematic, and with some editing here and there to keep the tension tighter The Girl Who Got Away would’ve been pitch perfect. That said, if you’re a fan of thrillers that don’t pull punches when it comes to its kills and doesn’t make it too easy for you to figure out its mysteries, you should definitely give this a look.
Sommer’s Score: 6 out of 10
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Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
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