Alice Oscura, Featured Writer
Blumhouse produced dark comedy, sci-fi inspired, slasher horror Totally Killer has got all the right moves. Actress Kiernan Shipka (The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) stars as Jamie Hughes, a 17-year-old who doesn’t have the best relationship with her overprotective mother Pam (Julie Bowen from Modern Family). The town that they live in is most famous for a series of murders that occurred 35 years ago. The killer dubbed “The Sweet Sixteen Killer” stabbed three victims sixteen times on the three consecutive nights leading up to Halloween. After Jamie goes to a concert with her best friend Amelia on Halloween night, Pam is left alone handing out candy. She is attacked and brutally stabbed to death by the Sweet Sixteen Killer who has eerily decided to reappear 35 years later after the original murders.
The story gets really kooky from here on in. To begin with, the introduction of the time travelling element comes literally out of nowhere. But once Jamie and the serial killer get transported to the year 1987, the year of the original murders, the film is all campy, 80’s inspired slasher fun. Shipka fits this role like a glove. Even funnier are the scenes where she teams up with her ditzy teenaged mom Pam and company to stop the serial killer from claiming his victims leading up to Halloween.
It’s definitely a great watch for Halloween for those who like to celebrate the spooky season with a lighter atmosphere. For horror fans there are many odes to popular slasher films of the era and science fiction fans will get a kick out of the Back to the Future references.
Totally Killer never tries to be more than it is and isn’t an inherently deep film apart from the emotional moments about toxic mother/daughter relationships. But never fear, the kill sequences are bloody, brutal and do not disappoint. This is a perfect example of having all the right ingredients without being too pretentious as the film is not meant to be taken seriously. Just an endlessly dark humorous, nonsensical ride to be had by all.
Dark Alice’s Score: 7.5 out of 10
Quick Trivia: Did you know that the lead character is named Jamie after the lead actress “Jamie Lee Curtis” in the Halloween (1978) film? Pretty cool tribute.
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Dark Alice has an old soul and a curious mind. I believe that anyone can be a hero and that the good guys should always win! I dislike cruelty to animals and think that they have far superior qualities to humans. My motto is there is no future without the past. I also have a weird penchant for Paranormal TV shows even though the slightest sound makes me jump. I enjoy writing reviews and throwing in fun facts to pique the readers’ curiosity. My ultimate goal in life would be to become a published writer one day. Read More