Credit: ITMAs Halloween time inches closer, many terror-loving enthusiasts have been waiting for new horror movies to feed into the fear of the season. One of the biggest production companies to pioneer new terrifying stories has been Blumhouse Productions. They have been responsible for horror hits like The Purge, Get Out, Insidious, Black Phone and Paranormal Activity.
Blumhouse will now mix comedy with horror when a time-traveler races against time to stop a masked killer from finding its next victims. Totally Killer will have a Back to the Future-like concept within a Halloween-styled setting. The movie will be a love letter to iconic 80s pop culture. It will have neon-lit arcades to classic John Hughes-esque high school rivalries to teenagers making poor decisions with a murderer on the loose.
It will center around a tenacious teenager (Kiernan Shipka) who accidentally journeys back to the 80s during Halloween. She is then thrown into chaos when she discovers that her arrival marks the tragic event of several murders at the hands of an untouchable serial killer. The sarcastic teen must use her knowledge of the future to prevent her demise in the past.
The horror-comedy will be directed by Nahnatchka Khan (Always Be My Maybe, Fresh Off the Boat) with Hocus Pocus 2‘s Jen D’Angelo as a co-writer. It will feature Netflix’s Sabrina star, Shipka, with other notable actors such as Julie Bowen (Modern Family), Olivia Holt (Cloak & Dagger) and Randall Park (WandaVision, The Interview).
This blending of humor with the slasher sub-genre structured around famously overused premises have been a massive success for Blumhouse. Happy Death Day was a comedic slasher spin on Groundhog’s Day, Freaky was a humorous reimagining of Freaky Friday, and Megan was an updated homage to the legendary Chucky from Child’s Play. Totally Killer keeps up with this strategy as it is also expected to be a big hit when it premieres next month.
Totally Killer is set to make its global debut on October 6, 2023 on Amazon Prime Video.
What do you think of the movie? Is horror-comedy the future of the genre?