Director: Nahnatchka Khan
Writers: David Matalon, Sasha Perl-Raver & Jen D’Angelo
Starring: Kiernan Shipka, Olivia Holt & Charlie Gillespie
The teen slasher genre has been a staple for decades with classics like Halloween, The Slumber Party Massacre, Friday the 13th, Scream and the recent string of hits like Happy Death Day (and its incredibly underrated sequel Happy Death Day 2U!) Freaky and Winnie The Pooh Death and Honey, all attempt to take a massive shift on the typical tropes and offer up something different. We have had groundhog day encounters in the Happy Death Day films, body swaps in Freaky and a monstrous take on a childhood classic in Death and Honey. Now Totally Killer is here to offer up a time-travelling twist with an 80’s infusion of big hair and puffy sleeves. The unabashed comparisons to Back to the Future are referenced more often than not in this film. Fortunately, this has the chops to back it up with a stellar cast and twisted story that is a great movie for the Halloween season.
The story begins in the present with teenager Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) who is trying to sneak out to a party on Halloween. The problem is her mum Pam (Julie Bowen) who is still traumatised from the events when she was a teenager in 1987, and three of her high school friends (The Mollys – all appropriately dressed as different iterations of Molly Ringwald) were all brutally murdered by the Sweet Sixteen Killer. When the murders start happening again in 2023, Jamie teams up with her inventor friend Amelia (Kelcey Mawema) who builds a time machine that sends her back to 1987 to attempt to unmask the murderer before he strikes again and possibly save the lives of the three original victims.
It’s important to note that this film was produced by Jason Blum from Blumhouse Productions, the same team behind the Happy Death Day and Freaky films, so a lot of that vibe exists here. Regrettably, it does take a bit to get cooking, the intro to this world is a bit too long, and things don’t really get interesting until Jamie is whipped back to 1987 and the comparisons between the 80’s and 2023 start. What was odd,is this film at its heart is a comedy before it is a slasher. The horror elements are definitely there but they aren’t the main feature here. When things do get crazy, the killer does go hard, the scene, in particular, involving a waterbed and a relentless stabbing resulting in spurts of blood and water shooting up from the bed all over the walls. The comedy element here really pulls from Mean Girls while this is definitely a reflection of the 1980’s and high school compared to the much more accepting and open world of 2023, the comparisons do make for some great comedic moments.
Some of these do play true to movies from this time period with plenty of sexist, racist and homophobic comments that while still get a laugh, is more of a shock laugh than a genuinely funny one. It is crazy to think that the world used to be like this, and the film highlights these parallels. One character in 1987 says, “If she had just given a blowjob, she wouldn’t be dead right now” to which Jamie replies, “Let’s not make that the lesson.”
There are definite plot holes here, like why does her iPhone have days of battery in 1987? Why does it suddenly get a Wi-Fi signal when it’s near a live TV broadcast? These are just some examples that, if you look too closely, it does start to fall apart. Fortunately, though, the laughs and kills are enough to avoid you pulling it apart. Director Nahnatchka Kahn, who bought us 2019’s Netflix rom-com Always Be My Maybe nails the balance between Mean Girls style laughs, Freaky style absurdity and Scream style slasher.
Shipka commands the lead role in this and delivers a compelling performance as a truly frustrated Gen Z-er who is sent back to her teenage mum’s time at school. Her natural ability to point out the absurdities of the film feels natural and provides much of the comedic relief in the film. Her chemistry with 1987 Lauren, played by Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson, really sells the inter-generational friendship and how a little of 2023 tolerance can change attitudes in 1987 American high school, if even by just a little bit.
Totally Killer knows what it is and makes no apologies. It is a cleverly crafted comedy/slasher that works extremely well as a streaming movie. It may not change the horror landscape or re-invent the wheel, it rather runs with existing formulas and adds its own spin on it to deliver an entertaining time-travelling comedy. Its ridiculously fast pace allows for plot holes to be easily moved past by the viewer. Khan’s direction helps guide this through and, by leaning heavily into the comedy, makes this a clear winner.
Totally Killer is now streaming on Prime Video Australia.
