Thirty five years ago, the Sweet Sixteen Killer murdered three teenagers. Now he’s back and ready to claim his next victim. Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) is willing to do whatever it takes to stop him even if that means accidentally traveling back in time to 1987. Determined to prevent these attacks from happening, Jamie teams up with her teenage mom, Pam (Olivia Holt), and her group of friends.
Spooky season is my favorite season of all and this movie was the perfect way to get into the spirit. Ever since I watched Scream a couple years ago, I have become somewhat of a fan of slasher films. They’re not too scary and I think the unique ways in which the characters are killed are always unique. This time around was no exception. It was reminiscent of Scream mixed in with the Back to the Future and proved to be a lot of fun.
Shipka seems to have made a name for herself in this genre, but she does it well. She was the perfect heroine here donning the hat of a leader and stepping up to change the future. The fact that she was so incredibly 2023 in the past was funny; the movie being self aware in this sense could have gotten annoying, but instead had me laughing with each and every joke. The casting choices were expertly chosen as well, especially as each teen looked so much like their adult counterpart.
Having the film set in the 80s was a brilliant choice. It gave the dark atmosphere a pop of color. The throwbacks to fashion and song choices were perfect and really helped set the tone. The horror elements could have been elevated even further though it all came together at the end of the day.
I expected Totally Killer to be a C-list film that I’d just have playing in the background. Instead, it was some of the most fun I’ve had while watching a film in a while. While it didn’t necessarily break the slasher film mode, it was different enough to stand apart from the pack.
Rating: ♥️♥️♥️.5
Credits Rolling 