In 1987 a serial killer by the name of the “Sweet Sixteen Killer” murders three teenage girls in a small town. Thirty-five years later (in that same town) the killer is back, murdering the mother of Jamie Hughes (Kiernan Shipka). Jamie then accidentally travels back to 1987 in an attempt to stop the killer.
Strongly implying that this is Scream meets Back to the Future makes the film sound better than it is. Sadly, Totally Killer is not well written enough to hit the high bar it’s set for itself.
It’s still a somewhat fun and passable horror/comedy, where some jokes work while others don’t. Directed by Nahnatchka Khan (Always Be My Maybe), the kills are well filmed and the story never drags. Khan also unsurprisingly and quite smartly leans heavily into the 1980’s visuals and pop culture references, which will certainly make this movie more entertaining for those who become instantly enchanted by anything 80’s related.
Final Thought: There are flashes of something a bit more elevated dispersed throughout, mostly in the idea of how time is dealt with in this particular world. But outside of that, this is an average and completely watchable October flick.
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