Totally Killer Review: Back To The Future x Scream
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
“The 80s were wild!” – Jamie Hughes
Sixteen-year-old Jamie accidentally travels back in time while being chased by a serial killer, and now has the chance to stop him before he commits his first murder in 1987. However, comically, apart from finding the killer’s identity, Jamie’s bigger challenge is to navigate the unhinged behavior of everybody in the 80s.
Directed by Nahnatchka Khan, written by David Matalon, Sasha Perl-Raver and Jen D’Angelo, the 2023 movie “Totally Killer” is a pretty fun horror-slasher about a masked killer that starts off in the 2020s and then plunges both the protagonist and viewers to a colorful comedic throwback to the 1980s. Think “Stranger Things”, but a lot less intense, a lot more bright and silly, complete with the retro upbeat soundtrack. The killing begins in the very first few minutes, so the story feels like a mashup between the “Scream” films and the sci-fi time-travel trilogy “Back to the Future.”
The story opens on Halloween night, where teen Jamie Hughes (Kiernan Shipka) is warned by her over-protective mom Pam (Julie Bowen) to be extra careful because 35 years ago, a serial killer brutally murdered three of her classmates during Halloween. Jamie is disrespectfully dismissive of her mother’s fears, but Pam’s paranoia turns out to be true when the “sweet sixteen” killer strikes in their sleepy town again and goes after Jamie. Luckily for Jamie, she is saved just in time by a time-machine booth and must investigate and apprehend the killer before he begins a life of crime.
While the writing doesn’t exploit the comic potential of its plot to the fullest, “Totally Killer” is totally engaging until the end. Kiernan Shipka as Jamie stands out like a sore thumb (in a good way) in the 80s timeline, where everybody else is sporting signature hairstyles of the era, and the three teens who were killed (but are still alive at the time of Jamie’s arrival in the past) look like they are straight out of “Heathers,” a 1988 crime-comedy film centered on a snooty clique of mean girls. In-fact, in perhaps a direct ode to the flick, one of the murder victims is called Heather (played by Anna Diaz). While the girl gang has no leader per se, Olivia Holt was wickedly charming as a teen Pam, who goes on become Jamie’s sweet mom in the future, but is quite the snobbish bully in high school.
For a serial killer-themed story, “Totally Killer” isn’t gorily violent but does pack in a decent amount of blood and kills. Jamie is too woke and sometimes comes across as pretty stupid; for example, she simply goes up to the cops in the 80s and tells them she is from the future and a murder is going to take place, so they should stop it. Dumb kid. Yes. But Jamie’s character interactions and reactions are fun to watch, especially with Olivia Holt’s Pam. In a clever decision, the creators keep showing how Jamie’s time-travel adventure alters the future. And let’s just say, Jamie makes quite a mess in the past, despite her good noble intentions! Overall, this is an entertaining flick that doesn’t take itself too seriously and makes for a good weekend watch.
Rating: 7 on 10. Stream the film on Prime Video.
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