The best thing about “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” was how Kiernan Shipka’s title character approached the supernatural nuttiness with seen-it-all-before Gen-Z wryness. So she’s the perfect lead to carry us through the similarly dry horror-comedy film “Totally Killer” (Amazon Prime), in which her character Jamie travels from 2023 to 1987 to save her mom (Julie Bowen as an adult and Olivia Holt as a teen) from the Sweet Sixteen Killer.
Director Nahnatchka Khan brought this same dry-bordering-on-flat brand of humor to the rom-com “Always Be My Maybe” (2019), and again uses the naturally funny Randall Park. He’s in a smaller role here as the 1987 police detective who is bemused and irked by Jamie’s claims that she’s a time-traveler.
Back to the ‘Back to the Future’ premise
A point of comparison will naturally be “Back to the Future” (1985), which Jamie cites when trying to explain time travel to the 1987 denizens. Mostly, she gives up on that – but luckily she has one helper in Lauren (Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson as a teen, Kimberly Huie as an adult), the actual inventor of the time machine.
“Totally Killer” (2023)
Director: Nahnatchka Khan
Writers: David Matalon, Sasha Perl-Raver (screenplay and story); Jen D’Angelo (screenplay)
Stars: Kiernan Shipka, Olivia Holt, Charlie Gillespie
“Totally Killer” doesn’t come close to the level of “Back to the Future.” It’s a matter of taste, sure, but I think it’s a common taste. “BTTF” is fizzy, energetic entertainment with lovable characters and relationships. It was fresh at the time, and that freshness became so infused in the movie that it still feels that way after hundreds of other time-travel films have come and gone.
There’s something about “Totally Killer” wherein we don’t totally see Jamie and company as real people whose fates we care about. That having been said, I do like the straight-faced brand of comedy and find it perfect for commenting on the cultural differences from 1987 versus 2023.
Jamie is taken aback (but rolls with every punch) by 1987 teens’ casual bullying, racism, sexism, homophobia, misogyny and lack of concern about drinking and driving. And also by humanity’s almost universal trusting nature; a kind (albeit chain-smoking) stranger offers Jamie a ride to school as soon as she pops out of the time machine. Meanwhile, the 1987 folks are bemused by Jamie’s futuristic references, such as the idea that something called “DNA” could solve a crime.
The team of three writers recognize that political correctness – or lack thereof – doesn’t mean people in a PC era are better than those of a different time, though. Indeed, Jamie has to learn that while her mom’s generation is a product of their time, their inner decency is not lacking compared to her.
A cautious killer comedy
Most of the jokes – although expertly timed by the likes of Shipka and Park, and including a smart nod to the Mandela Effect – are surface-level. These aren’t the biting observations like we’d get from, for example, “Gen V.” That makes “Totally Killer” more forgettable that it should be, considering that it provides consistent smiles.
Khan’s direction is workmanlike, but moments of cheapness filter through. In one sequence, four girls are riding in a car, but perhaps because of actress availability on that day, we don’t see all four in one shot. It’s Shipka and Holt in the back seat, or Shipka with the other two in the front and Holt’s spot hidden.
Despite being a cranked-out product, “Totally Killer” does have color and vibrancy. I like how Lauren’s time machine is in an abandoned amusement park in 2023, which becomes a lively amusement park in 1987. And the casting is excellent, with several examples of younger and older actors lining up near-perfectly in looks.
The film is too cautious to be great, though. It’s not remotely scary or thrilling when the masked Sweet Sixteen Killer goes around swinging his knife. The mystery isn’t absent, but it’s so underplayed that I had little reaction to the revelation. If you want even the mildest of thrills or intrigue from your horror-comedies, skip this one.
In terms of commentary, “Totally Killer” doesn’t say we’ve culturally lost nor gained anything over the course of 36 years. But nor does its thesis that “people are basically the same, regardless of the year” land with much panache. So while “Back to the Future” is worth watching once per year, “Totally Killer” is worth watching once.