‘Completely Killer’ balances horror and humor

Have you ever ever puzzled, “What in the event that they made ‘Again to the Future’ at the moment, and in addition made it a slasher?” I’ll be trustworthy, that had by no means occurred to me, however after I noticed the outline for Nahnatchka Khan’s “Completely Killer” streaming on Prime Video, I knew that she had one thing that was proper smack in the midst of all of my particular pursuits.

It’s Halloween, and Jamie Hughes (Kiernan Shipka) is making an attempt to determine how she ended up with such overbearing mother and father. Her mother Pam (Julie Bowen) and her dad Blake (Lochlyn Munro) carry with them worry of the Candy Sixteen Killer who murdered three of Pam’s associates again in 1987 and was by no means caught. It seems that their fears are grounded when the masked killer reveals up once more and murders Pam. A bereft Jamie visits her buddy Amelia (Kelcey Mawema) who’s engaged on a time machine when the killer reveals up for her. When he jams his knife into the machine, it prompts, sending Jamie again to 1987 to attempt to cease the killer on the supply.

I wholly loved this film. It’s the mix of “Scream” and “Again to the Future” that I by no means knew I needed, however that’s precisely what I wanted. The premise is, after all, absurd, however the film by no means takes itself so severely that I cared a lot about that.

Discovering the correct tone between humor and horror is a tricky needle to string, however writers David Matalon, Sasha Perl-Raver and Jen D’Angelo have been in a position to thread it. The film by no means shies away from a bloody stabbing, but it surely additionally isn’t afraid to make some fairly entertaining jokes. The writers have been in a position to steadiness Gen X and Gen Z humor very well, poking enjoyable at each whereas by no means crossing into exasperation with both group.

The characters are all nice. Slasher movies don’t typically make it possible for stellar performances, however as an entire, this forged delivers. Shipka is a good scream queen and Olivia Holt, who performs younger Pam does an important job as the favored 80s woman. There aren’t any stand out performances that make me want that awards reveals checked out style films for greatest performing awards, however the ensemble is clearly having enjoyable with this, and that radiates by the display screen.

Interval items like this usually fall into the lure of constructing completely positive that we all know what decade its going down in, however this was extra refined, trusting the viewers to grasp that it was the late 80’s with out making never-ending “do you get it?’ references.

Slasher films are not often thought of excessive artwork, and this one doesn’t match into that class. However “Completely Killer” is a extremely enjoyable, bloody time that balances horror and humor higher than most, and that’s price a suggestion from me.

Like, completely.

ALISE CHAFFINS is a Morgantown author who loves films and sharing her opinions. She evaluations a film from a streaming service each Saturday and one newly in theaters each Sunday. Discover extra at MacGuffin or Which means on Substack.