‘Murder is so 1987.’
Totally Killer is a 2023 comedy horror slasher film about a teenage girl who goes back in time thirty-five years to stop a serial killer.
Directed by Nahnatchka Khan from a screenplay co-written by Jen D’Angelo, David Matalon and Sasha Perl-Raver from a story by David Matalon and Sasha Perl-Raver. Produced by Jason Blum, Greg Gilreath, Adam Hendricks and Adan Orozco.
The Divide/Conquer-Blumhouse Productions movie features Kiernan Shipka, Olivia Holt, Charlie Gillespie, Lochlyn Munro, Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson, Liana Liberato, Kelcey Mawema, Stephi Chin-Salvo, Anna Diaz, Ella Choi, Jonathan Potts, Randall Park, Julie Bowen, Kimberly Huie, Andy Thompson, Fred Henderson, Vanessa Prasad, Amy Goodmurphy, Pam Kearns, Ryan Cowie, Tommy Europe, Kevin Osea, Andrew Barber, Alex Pychtin, Tara Pratt, Tate Chernen, Nicholas Lloyd, Brittany Whelton, Shaira Boucher and Jocelyn Kim.
Plot:
Thirty-five years after the shocking murder of three teens, the infamous Sweet Sixteen Killer returns on Halloween night to claim a fourth victim.
Seventeen-year-old Jamie ignores her overprotective mom’s warning and comes face-to-face with the masked maniac and, on the run for her life, accidentally time travels back to 1987, the year of the original killings.
Forced to navigate the unfamiliar and outrageous culture of the 1980s, Jamie teams up with her teen mom to take down the killer once and for all, before she’s stuck in the past forever…
Release date:
Totally Killer is released worldwide on Amazon Prime Video on October 6, 2023.
Reviews:
“Totally Killer is a film full of great talent, great moments, and an infectious sense of fun, which means that even when it doesn’t quite work, it’s an entertaining balance of slasher tropes and time travel adventure. It’s not necessarily a new slasher classic, but it is the kind of film horror devotees can happily kick back and enjoy on a cozy Friday night in October…” AV Club
” …wants to be silly, but also looks to arrange suspense set pieces intended to bring nail-biting events to the picture. Totally Killer has its fun moments, but only when it remains in time travel exploration mode. Slasher activity is mostly uneventful, bringing severity to an endeavor that’s not sharp enough to be a triumphant black comedy, ending up a mediocre chiller instead.” ★★½ Blu-ray.com
“Unlike 2015’s surprisingly affecting comedy The Final Girls, which saw a teen transported into a horror movie led by her since-deceased scream queen mother, there’s no emotive pull here or attempt to make anyone or anything really matter. It leaves the last act as a bit of a scramble with some ineffective twists and some hard-to-follow gobbledygook papering over what feels a little too low stakes.” ★★ The Guardian
“If it its ingredients feel familiar, however, the script (by David Matalon, Sasha Perl-Raver and Jen D’Angelo) injects them with just enough heart and humor to keep them from feeling stale. Totally Killer may not be destined to become a classic in its own right. But the Amazon release is fun enough for a spooky season night in.” The Hollywood Reporter
“Holt and Shipka are such a stupendous pair and their chemistry is constantly on display. This helps aid the believability of Jamie and Teen Pam’s relationship. The mother-future-daughter bond helps give Totally Killer its heart and allows it to be elevated from others in the slasher genre […] Totally Killer is a lot of fun…” ★★★★ Loud and Clear
“Totally Killer’s humor is one of its standout features. Characters are filled with hilarious quips, ensuring that no scene, even the most intense ones, is devoid of a laugh. While the film does take a few playful jabs at the 80s, it doesn’t shy away from portraying its characters with all their delightful imperfections. They’re real, they’re messy, and they’re just trying to have a good time.” Nightmare on Film Street
” …audiences who pay minimal attention to the characters and their surroundings should be able to deduce the killer’s identity in a span of ten minutes. So, with the element of surprise all but squashed, that leaves the slasher shenanigans to do the heavy lifting and despite one decent sequence set inside a remote cabin in the woods, Totally Killer keeps things pretty generic.” Grade: C, The Only Critic
“Marrying daring temporal escapades, sharp societal reflections, and compellingly intricate relationships, the movie crafts an enthralling and thought-provoking experience, leaving audiences suspended between amusement and reflective pondering, having been escorted through an eerily entertaining escapade of time, emotional ties, and terrifying scenarios.” ★★★★ Overly Honest Movie Reviews
“The decade references aren’t always authentic, the time travel motif is too ridiculous to take seriously, while the characters are basically props in ’80s costumes. Does have a few clever moments, but its own wit comes across as smarmy.” 1.5 out of 4, Splatter Critic
” …seems like they put more thought into the effects of Jamie’s trip than the entire slasher plot line. While casual fans will probably enjoy it, Totally Killer won’t really satisfy serious horror fans. It does have a few decent moments and the jokes mostly work, so it’s worth watching but it’s probably not a film you’ll come back to in the future.” ★★★ Voices from the Balcony
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