Killer Movie (2008)

Director:

Jeff Fisher

Writer:

Jeff Fisher (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Fear Reality.

Plot:

A reality TV director copes with a spoiled celebutante and a show gone haywire when a masked killer starts bumping off the crew in this slasher-movie satire.

Plot Keywords:

Killer | Fictional Reality Show | Movie In Title

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 29	6:10 PM	TMC
Mon. Nov. 30	2:35 AM	TMC
Thur. Dec. 3	12:30 AM	SHOW

Cast

Paul Wesley	...	Jake Tanner
Kaley Cuoco	...	Blanca Champion
Gloria Votsis	...	Keir
Torrey DeVitto	...	Phoebe Hilldale
Jason London	...	Mike
Cyia Batten	...	Lee Tyson
Adriana DeMeo	...	Daphne
Al Santos	...	Luke
Nestor Carbonell	...	Seaton Brookstone
Hal B. Klein	...	Greg
Maitland McConnell	...	Erin Gorman
Robert Buckley	...	Nik
Leighton Meester	...	Jaynie Hansen
Andy Fischer-Price	...	Vance Carhartt
Stephen Pelinski	...	Coach Carhartt

Also Known As:

Dead of Night (USA) (working title)
Dead of Winter (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for bloody horror violence and language.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Chambers Hotel - 901 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Trivia:

Filmed in 21 days.

Goofs:

Continuity: When hiding in the woods, Jaynie cellphone changes in the close up shots.

Quotes:

Blanca Champion: Okay, to the superstar hockey player.
Vance Carhartt: Well, to the super-hot actress/model.
Blanca Champion: Okay, I've been called worse. But, whatever.

Movie Connections:

References "Punky Brewster" (1984)

Soundtrack:

Two Flies

An enjoyable, 90 minute cliché.

Killer Movie tells the story about a young director and his film crew, who find themselves picked off one-by-one by a masked killer, whilst filming a project in a small American town. Whilst Killer movie does use cliché after cliché and is unoriginal in almost every aspect, it's an enjoyable 90 minute cliché, which is definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of slashers.

The acting from the cast is solid, with Cyia Batten giving the best performance as the incredibly bitchy Lee. I was very disappointed with the lack of screen time one of the major talents in the film, Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl) though, as she appears for a few minutes and has very little to work with apart from being a stereotypical bimbo. The character development is somewhat good and each character (for the most-part) gets a decent amount of screen time. However, it doesn't help that when it comes to these characters being chased/attacked by the killer, they make many stupid decisions and deserve to die due to their own stupidity.

Onto the death scenes, they are enjoyable and have some blood/gore, but on other times they are a wasted opportunity as we cut away from all of the action. They were good enough though, and I liked the chase scenes near the end. Killer Movie, as you probably know, is a comedy also and does use some amusing lines and does have some amusing moments. The comedy worked well in this movie. Kaley Cuoco plays a "Hilton/Richie" type character, and has some funny moments in this. I'll also quickly mention the production values, as this looks very well-made for DTV and the movie is written and directed well enough.

The problems with Killer Movie is the unoriginality and the fact that many clichés are used throughout - it makes you wonder whether it was deliberate or just completely lazy and uninspired. We have stupid characters doing many stupid things, the freak who lives by himself (and is used as a red herring), cell-phone service going down, characters wandering off and many more. Nothing about Killer Movie even tries to be original. I also thought the killer's identity was predictable, as with the ending. But hey, for the most part, Killer Movie uses the conventions well...unlike some of these hideous low-budget movies you can find.

Overall, I enjoyed Killer Movie for what it was - a 90 minute, full-of-clichés slasher flick with some laughs, some blood, some chase scenes and good writing/direction and production values. If you can appreciate this movie for what it is and are a fan of slashers, you'll probably enjoy it. I do, however, think these rigged reviews on IMDb are pretty stupid. Killer Movie a 10/10 flick? You've gotta be kidding.

6/10