New to Amazon Prime Video today is the sci-fi slasher-comedy, Totally Killer. The film – directed by Nahnatchka Khan – stars Kiernan Shipka, Julie Bowen, Lochlyn Munro, and Randall Park and follows the story of Jamie Hughes – a teenager who travels back in time to the late 1980s, to stop a masked killer from embarking on a murder spree.
In the film, it is Halloween night in 2023 and Pam Hughes is brutally murdered. Pam is stabbed 16 times by a mysterious masked assailant, who breaks their way into her home.
The killer’s modus operandi follows the exact same pattern of an infamous and unidentified murderer who butchered three 16-year-old girls back in 1987. The killer was never caught, but during their murderous rampage they became known as the Sweet Sixteen Killer, and now the police believe this same person is back.
Pam’s daughter, Jamie, also believes the Sweet Sixteen Killer has returned and begins her own investigation into her mother’s death. However, this investigation is interrupted when Jamie is attacked by the killer and chased into the school science fair.
Here she enters an experimental time machine, built by her best friend, which transports her back to 1987. Jamie arrives a few hours before the Sweet Sixteen Killer attacks their first victim, giving her the opportunity to stop the killer and hopefully prevent her own mother from dying back in 2023.
Although the premise of Totally Killer sounds a bit hokey (which it is), and the convenient time travel aspect requires a leap of faith from audiences (which it does), if you can get on board the general concept of the movie, some fun can be had. Totally Killer has its heart in the right place, the film has some amusing gags, and there is the general feeling that everyone involved wants this movie to work.
All the way through Totally Killer it is clear the picture has been put together with good intentions. The script has some nice ideas, the time travel angle has lots of potential, and the cast is pretty decent.
However, while Totally Killer isn’t bad, and it certainly has some strong moments, it also has a few issues too. As much as you want the picture to work, something always feels off, resulting in a mixed bag that should be much better than it is.
Even when Totally Killer is hitting its best material, the general atmosphere of the movie doesn’t quite work. From start to finish, Totally Killer comes across as quite flat, almost as though the energy has been sucked out of every scene, and this impacts the overall experience greatly.
Some of this flatness may be a budget issue, with not enough funds for music to liven things up, but most of it is definitely down to the direction. A film which boasts ‘80s fashion, endless pop culture references, and an experimental time machine (located inside a photo booth), needs dynamic direction and it’s simply not on show here.
The problem is, this lack of energy coming from behind the came, as well as the stale atmosphere on screen, completely throws off the momentum of the story. So, while the film should be continually building toward something exciting, it largely spends its time trying to put the wind back in its own sails.
The picture also suffers from being too long, and also from having far too many jokes aimed at highlighting cultural and social changes since 1987. Yes, parts of the 1980s are seen as problematic, especially through the eyes of a teenager from 2023, but this doesn’t need to be constantly mentioned.
Pointing it out once is funny. Pointing it out on multiple occasions is just annoying.
When Totally Killer isn’t being weighed down by its own problems, it does deliver some enjoyable moments. Pam’s death scene at the beginning of the movie is well played; Kiernan Shipka is good in the lead role as Jamie; and the 1980s backdrop is vibrant and colourful like we all remember it to be (rather than being beige and drab like it actually is in our own photos).
As noted above, Totally Killer also tries really hard and if you look beyond the surface, it’s easy to see why this film was commissioned. The script has the right ingredients for something different and I do expect it will pick up a bit of a cult following in time.
It doesn’t work as intended, but it’s not a complete disaster. It’s obvious why this film went direct to streaming, rather than into cinemas, but there’s some enjoyment to be had regardless.
While it can’t be classed as peak horror viewing this Halloween, and parts of it do require a bit of patience, Totally Killer is fine enough. It does squander some of its potential, but at the same time it generates a bit of goodwill and this helps it out.
If you like slasher movies and you fancy something a little different, then this film could work for you. Totally killer it ain’t, but occasionally entertaining it is, and this may be all you need.
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