“Completely Killer,” a time-travel teen slasher comedy, is fast to acknowledge itself as a mash-up of two Twentieth-century cultural touchstones. “Have you ever seen the film ‘Again to the Future?’” Jamie (Kiernan Shipka), the film’s teenage protagonist, asks a pair of cops, earlier than later making an allusion to “Scream,” Wes Craven’s spooky-season basic. The considerably gimmicky style mixture could have had the potential to be a profitable combo, however “Completely Killer,” directed by Nahnatchka Khan, struggles to muster up sufficient charisma to stay the touchdown.
After the Candy Sixteen Killer, who murdered Jamie’s mom’s buddies when her mom was a teen, makes a sudden return on Halloween, Jamie is thrust right into a time machine that sends her again to 1987, when the unique killings befell. Posing as the brand new child on the town, Jamie turns into shut with the teenage model of her mom (Olivia Holt), hoping to cease the killer earlier than he begins his rampage.
The enjoyable premise could make for a passively gratifying watch throughout a Halloween binge, however the movie principally feels prefer it’s simply going via the motions. Its ‘80s throwback setting is brief on colour and life, and its slasher parts lack the choreographic or cinematic oomph to induce any terror, and even stress. Shipka is the unequivocal shiny spot, naturally embodying the allure, emotion and wit that made this film’s forebears shine within the first place.
Completely Killer
Rated R for bloody violence, language, sexual materials and teenage substance use. Operating time: 1 hour 46 minutes. Watch on Amazon Prime Video.
