In 1987, the town of Vernon saw the deaths of three 16 year-old girls by a masked killer known only as The Sweet Sixteen Killer that has left its legacy on the town even 35 years later. Jamie Hughes (Kiernan Shipka) has a strained relationship with her mom Pam (Julie Bowen) who continually worries for Jamie as it was her friends who were killed by the Sweet Sixteen Killer. When the killer returns years later, he successfully murders Pam despite her best efforts with Jamie devastated by her loss. The killer reappears once more with sights on Jamie and seeking shelter in her best friend Amelia's (Kelcey Mawema) time machine made from a photo booth based on her mom's plans is accidently sent back to 1987 the day the murders began. Now with the opportunity to stop the murders before they happen, Jamie teams up with Amelia's teen mother Lauren (Troy Leigh-Anne) to stop the killer from targeting her teen mom Pam Miller (Olivia Holt) and her circle of friends whose attitudes make them easy targets.
Totally Killer is the sophomore feature of Nahnatchka Khan whose work in comedy can be seen in everything from Pepper Ann to more recent work on Fresh off the Boat and Young Rock and previously directed the very enjoyable Always Be My Maybe. Essentially a mash-up of Back to the Future by way of The Final Girls, Totally Killer may be made from familiar parts but shows that when properly assembled it can still result in a really good time.
Being made by someone who specializes in comedy, Totally Killer is very upfront about its nature as an over-the-top comedy first and foremost. Very much inspired by the over-the-top fashion in which Back to the Future portrayed the 50s, Totally Killer does the same with the 80s including but not limited to the cultural attitudes, the attire, and even the fact that the killer's mask looks not unlike Max Headroom. The movie creates a playful world of proud silliness including the very casual way that it drops how Amelia's high school science project is a time machine and the writing by David Matalon, Sasha Perl-Raver, and Jen D'Angelo is filled with amusing characters and setups that are well-directed by Khan who shows a good handling of the material. The movie also features a solid emotional core with Kiernan Shipka's Jamie teaming up with her mother Olivia Holt's Pam that leads to both humor and touching character work, and while it does invite comparisons to similar takes such as The Final Girls or Happy Death Day, it finds its own voice in the material that keeps it from feeling like a case of "deja view".
I was pleasantly surprised by Totally Killer and thought it was a fun and diverting comedy that took playful advantage of its high concept premise. While it does wear its influences proudly upon its sleeve and even namedrops them, Totally Killer shows that as long as you're good a little familiarity is forgivable or even welcome.
Totally Killer is the sophomore feature of Nahnatchka Khan whose work in comedy can be seen in everything from Pepper Ann to more recent work on Fresh off the Boat and Young Rock and previously directed the very enjoyable Always Be My Maybe. Essentially a mash-up of Back to the Future by way of The Final Girls, Totally Killer may be made from familiar parts but shows that when properly assembled it can still result in a really good time.
Being made by someone who specializes in comedy, Totally Killer is very upfront about its nature as an over-the-top comedy first and foremost. Very much inspired by the over-the-top fashion in which Back to the Future portrayed the 50s, Totally Killer does the same with the 80s including but not limited to the cultural attitudes, the attire, and even the fact that the killer's mask looks not unlike Max Headroom. The movie creates a playful world of proud silliness including the very casual way that it drops how Amelia's high school science project is a time machine and the writing by David Matalon, Sasha Perl-Raver, and Jen D'Angelo is filled with amusing characters and setups that are well-directed by Khan who shows a good handling of the material. The movie also features a solid emotional core with Kiernan Shipka's Jamie teaming up with her mother Olivia Holt's Pam that leads to both humor and touching character work, and while it does invite comparisons to similar takes such as The Final Girls or Happy Death Day, it finds its own voice in the material that keeps it from feeling like a case of "deja view".
I was pleasantly surprised by Totally Killer and thought it was a fun and diverting comedy that took playful advantage of its high concept premise. While it does wear its influences proudly upon its sleeve and even namedrops them, Totally Killer shows that as long as you're good a little familiarity is forgivable or even welcome.