‘Totally Killer’ Movie Review: Time-Traveling Slasher Comedy Is…Totally Fun
Photo from Prime Video
From Jeremy Kibler
“Back to the Future meets Scream” is a fitting comp for Totally Killer, a time-traveling slasher romp that rightfully name-drops those films but also has a good spirit all its own. Director Nahnatchka Khan (who previously made the eirresistible 2019 Ali Wong-Randall Park romantic comedy Always Be My Maybe) doesn’t always nail the balance between the violent slashes and the broader, sometimes-parodic comedy, but for a genre mash-up, this one is quick-witted, sassy, sweet, and just plain fun. Totally Killer even shares enough DNA with The Final Girls, Happy Death Day 2U, and Freaky that a perfect slumber-party movie marathon just curates itself.
Kiernan Shipka plays 16-year-old Jamie Hughes, who’s tired of being overprotected by her parents Pam (Julie Bowen) and Blake (Lochlyn Munro), especially Pam. But since Pam’s three friends were each stabbed sixteen times to death by a masked killer dubbed the “Sweet Sixteen Killer” thirty-five years ago, it’s understandable. On Halloween night in the town of Vernon, the killer is back. As soon as Jamie becomes the next target, she hides in a vintage photo booth, also the time machine her brainy best friend Amelia (Kelcey Mawema) made for the science fair (just go with it!), and gets flung back to 1987. There, she tries meshing in with the kids of the ‘80s but also comes to find out her mom (played by Olivia Holt) is a mean girl in a clique, The Mollys, who all dress like different Molly Ringwald characters. If Jamie can convince her mom and the Mollys that they’re about to become victims, how will stopping the past murders change her future? Oh, and who might be behind that toothy-grinning, Lost Boys-era mask with the knife?
Even with stabbings and throat slashings, Totally Killer remains poppy and charming. Writers David Matalon & Sasha Perl-Raver and Jen D’Angelo run with this clever conceit, leaving one in disbelief that it hasn’t been copied numerous times in horror-comedy form before. The whodunit aspect works just fine but isn’t nearly as important as Jamie messing with the space-time continuum. The film also successfully mines the clash of the two eras for fish-out-of-water humor. Being brought as a Gen Z-er, Jamie faces the political incorrectness of the ‘80s, including problematic male behavior and some very loose school rules. Even the payoff to a joke involving one of the Mollys, flighty blowjob-lover Marisa (Stephi Chin-Salvo), and a rape alarm is well-timed and pretty hilarious.
Shipka is not only adorable but game to shoulder everything as Jamie. We know the acting phenom can emotionally ground even an implausible situation such as time travel, but Shipka is also a stealthy expert with a sly one-liner. Olivia Holt is very funny but also unexpectedly warm as teenage Pam, proving Jamie’s mom is much more than a mean-girl stereotype. Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson is another standout as the teen version of Lauren, Jamie’s best friend’s mom, complemented by Kimberly Huie’s lovely, understated work as the adult version.
Predestined to be an easy sell for in-the-bag ‘80s slasher fans, Totally Killer is a total scream. Any film that dips back into the time of high-waisted jeans and giant hair is nothing without a killer soundtrack, and this one finds inspired use for Chris De Burgh’s “Lady in Red,” Shannon’s “Let the Music Play,” and Echo & the Bunnymen’s “The Killing Moon.” Also, have we ever had a slasher movie that actually climaxed on a Gravitron ride? This crowd-pleaser is the right kind of treat just in time for the season of everything spooky.
Rating: 3.5/5
Totally Killer is available to stream on Prime Video on October 6, 2023.
