You Might Be The Killer (2018)
Directed by: Brett Simmons
Written by: Thomas Vitale
Starring: Alyson Hannigan, Fran Kranz
Meta horror takes hold once more, in this joyful slasher film that honours the greatness of 80’s horror…….
Born from a now infamous Twitter chat between authors Sam Sykes and Chuck Wendig, You Might Be The Killer, jumps on the modern take of a Slasher film.
While Halloween 2018 showed that a straight horror slash film can still make it big at the box-office, most of the successful films from this genre have been the ones that have bent the rules and made “Meta” the most important aspect of their script.
Scream started the craze in 1996, ten years later Behind The Mask showed how a bogeyman is created, Tucker and Dale stretched in further in 2010, while the recent The Final Girls was so gloriously self knowing that its become one of the most popular finds of recent times.
You Might Be The Killer is similar in style to all those films above and if you love this kind of offering and are reading this review, then you may have just stumbled onto one of your favourite horror films of 2019.
With the setting straight out of a Friday the 13th film, we start with Sam (Fran Kranz) covered in blood, running away from whoever is chasing him and locking himself in a cabin and phoning his best friend Chuck (the always delightful Alyson Hannigan) who to sum it up, is the Randy of Scream in this story.
Its here that the film becomes littered with flashbacks as Sam tells Chuck what has happened to lead him to make this call. There are bodies outside all slaughtered by an unstoppable force and now the killer want’s Sam who is The Final Guy dead. Or does he?
Drum roll……..
With the help of witty banter and a bit of team work, it could well be that Sam is mistaken and the startling truth is – that he could actually be the killer himself!!!!
With this brilliant premise, the film never lets up as we are shown if Sam is the killer or not (no spoilers) and with vicious kills that will appease the gore-hounds, anyone missing a great 80’s style Slash flick will love it!
The film would not work if we had two bland leads as its basically two people on the phone, but thankfully Franz and Hannigan are charming with a real affectionate friendship that gives the film its strength. The script veers off into a total different unexpected direction at times and I do love a slash film that surprises you with certain kills.
Littered with a knowledge of background Easter Eggs, with an overload of film references, even after the reveal if Sam is the killer or not – and it is revealed way too early-the film still keeps your attention thanks to a wonderful pace, some delightful set-pieces and brilliant performances.
Even the ending is a brilliant thought out set-piece that combines a dark finale with a final touch of comedy that screams out for a sequel.
It may not have the seriousness of a Michael Myers slaughtering his away through the streets of Haddonfield, but what it does offer is a fantastic hark back to a golden period of Slash and is without doubt, one of the best films of 2019…..and guess what….
If you have Shudder….its on there right now….
Highly Recommended and in my Top 10 of this year!
Rating: 
Be the first to comment