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Totally Killer is a new movie for Amazon Prime Video, where it’s Halloween in 2023… or, most likely, in 2022, since this film harks back to 1987 as being “35 years ago” when the Sweet Sixteen Killer struck for the first time.
Three-and-a-half decades on – in a time for Jamie Hughes (Kiernan Shipka) – and when Halloween comes around, people still dress up like the individual, even though they look like Beavis, from Beavis and Butthead!
But, like every slasher movie, a new killer pops up, and he couldn’t be more obvious if he tried, first digging into Jamie’s mum, Pam (Julie Bowen), and soon after, Jamie’s friend, Amelia (Kelcey Mawema – Honor Society) is building a time machine disguised as a photo booth, which makes a lot of fizzing noises… as they do. The date’s set to Oct 27th 1987, the date of the first murder, so there’s an element of Back to the Future in just setting a seemingly random – but important – date. In fact, the Michael J Fox film even gets mentioned in the trailer.
Jamie ends up back in 1987 by accident and suffers an even more tragic situation than a murdered relative… she has to endure Bananarama’s cover of Venus! Yes, we ALL had to suffer back then!
There’s a few gags, such as when Jamie’s in need of a lift and is offered one by a random woman in a garish outfit. The 2023 streetwise Jamie is concerned about the fact she wouldn’t get in a car with a stranger, to which comes the reply, “Would a serial killer where Gloria Vanderbilt?”
Plus, one cop says he hates time travel movies, “because they never make any sense”. I like them, however.
Additionally, she has to take part in lessons like gym/dodgeball, where she not only encounters the killer’s first three potential victims, but also her own mother as a teenager. Can she convince them that her situation is genuine? Either way, I like how 2023 friend’s mum, in 1987, Lauren (Troy L Johnson), is immediately onboard with Jamie coming back from the future. So, she’s the Doc Brown of the film, effectively.
There’s also the ’80s clothes, plus the music like New Order’s Bizarre Love Triangle, and Jamie makes a reference to Mean Girls, even though no-one’s seen that yet. And can she last 106 minutes without accidentally changing the past? Erm…
As an aside, I wonder if the school is called Vernon High School, because her Mum makes a reference to dressing like Molly Ringwald in The Breakfast Club, and Richard Vernon was the detention teacher in that film.
Overall, Totally Killer is entertaining enough for a quick watch, but while it’s purposely referencing time-travel movies, it struggles to stand alone on its own merits. It’s also all a bit cliched, but it’s not trying to be original. Hence, while it’ll pass almost two hours, it’s not a movie you’ll go back to… (the future).
Thanks to our friends at Amazon Prime Video for the screener prior to release.
Trailer posted: October 1st 2023 1:00
Updated with review: October 4th 2023 22:00
Totally Killer is on Amazon Prime Video from Friday October 6th, but the film isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 106 minutes
Release date: October 6th 2023
Studio: Amazon Prime Video
Aspect Ratio: 2.00:1
Rating: 6/10
Director: Nahnatchka Khan
Screenplay: David Matalon, Sasha Perl-Raver, Jen D’Angelo
Producers: Jason Blum, Greg Gilreath, Adam Hendricks
Music: Michael Andrews
Cast:
Jamie Hughes: Kiernan Shipka
Pam Miller: Olivia Holt
Teen Blake Hughes: Charlie Gillespie
Adult Blake Hughes: Lochlyn Munro
Teen Lauren Creston: Troy L Johnson
Tiffany Clark: Liana Liberato
Amelia Creston: Kelcey Mawema
Marisa Song: Stephi Chin-Salvo
Heather Hernandez: Anna Diaz
Teen Kara Lim: Ella Choi
Teen Randy Finkle: Jeremy Monn-Djasgnar
Teen Doug Summers: Nathaniel Appiah
Chris Dubasage: Jonathan Potts
Sheriff Dennis Lim: Randall Park
Pam Hughes: Julie Bowen
Teen Lurch: Zach Gibson
Adult Lauren Creston: Kimberly Huie
Teen Chris Dubasage: Nicholas Lloyd
Sheriff Kara Lim: Patti Kim
Adult Lurch: Brendan O’Brien
Adult Randy Finkle: Tommy Europe
Coach Zane: Amy Goodmurphy
Principal Doug Summers: Conrad Coates
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.