Popularity Killer 2011 (Short Film) - REVIEW

I remember when I was in high school I always wanted to be popular. That’s not the case here. If you are in the wrong clique at Payton High you are going to end up dead. Things sure have changed over the years; on the other hand it makes for one hell of a slasher film.

Our film starts off in a wooded area where Kaitlyn (Dana Terpinas) and her boyfriend Nick (Mike Goltz) are making out. Nick reaches between her legs to make his move and he is blocked. This starts an argument. Nick is sick of waiting for her to put out for him and she is nowhere near ready to give up her virginity. Nick kicks Kaitlyn out of the car and drives off forcing her to walk home. While walking a figure is seen stalking her in the night, dressed in a long black hooded robe and wearing a mask that resembles a creepy looking Betty Boop. Kaitlyn is knocked to the ground head first and is stabbed in the back of the head with an exit through her mouth. The next day back at school, the day after the murder, Nick is now the prime suspect in the killing of Kaitlyn. The students are given a half day of school off plus the next day because of the grisly murder that has happened to one of their own. Melissa (Courtney Ellen Bay) and her best friend Courtney (Hannah Herdt) plot to have a girls night, just the two of them, and watch movies. Courtney wants to invite Corey (Matty Deorschner) so that Melissa will have a chance to get laid, but Melissa still just wants the night to be just the two of them. Courtney ends up inviting Corey anyway along with Paige (Jennifer Frey) for a quiet night of movies and beer. Melissa shows up unhappy about her not being the only other one there and almost right behind her is Nick with a girl from Bridgeport named Allison (Jamie Jo Roen). This party is about to get really interesting really quick.

Popularity Killer is from the same studio that brought you Teddy which was recently reviewed as well. Slasher Studios is making their second short film now with a bigger budget and quite frankly has better acting. It is meant to be a dark comedy slasher film, but in my opinion all that’s what a slasher movie is anyway. The death scenes in this movie are really what impressed me. They all looked very realistic and the actors sold their deaths better than most full feature big budget movie actors do. The only thing that is really missing is good looking women. The women in the film are pretty plain looking, nothing special. The first person to get killed is Kaitlyn and she was supposed to be the most popular girl in school and is really not that attractive. To sum it up: good acting, great effects, but needs more hotties.

I would say I really enjoyed Popularity Killer. I am pretty big on effects and how realistic a death looks in the movie and they were able to perfect that formula. The movie is chalk full of everything I love about slasher movies. There is a scene in a wooded area, a killer with a mask and a pretty creepy undertone. It’s also quite a bit of a challenge to try and figure out who the killer is. Really glad I’m not in high school. Teenagers will do anything to be popular, or in this case kill who is popular.

Reviewed by: J.R. Watkins

Teddy 2011 (Short Film) - REVIEW

When we were young we all had a Teddy Bear. Although I don’t think any of my Teddy’s had their mouths sown shut like a scarecrow. Reason for that is, well, it is just a little creepy. If anyone out there did that as a child or in their 20’s well I would like to know so I can make sure not to make friends with you!

Set in the winter of 1996, Teddy begins with an old man stopping to fix his broken down truck. His son (Keegan Bergan) gets out of the truck clutching onto his Teddy Bear, obviously not playing with a full deck as he is well into his 20’s. Seeing a truck coming down the road the old man jumps out in the middle of the road to wave them down. He jumped rather late for a group of people who were drinking and did not see him. He was hit by the truck, splattered blood on the windshield and he was dead. The group jump out of the truck to see what they have done. Clay (Mike Golz) is the first to speak up since he was the one driving and also still holding a beer. He insists he is not taking the fall since they were all drinking. Aaron (Kevin Sommerfield) speaks up to call the police but is sharply shot down my Clay and Aaron conforms because he is kind of a wuss. On Clays command they all roll the old man in the woods so they can get on with their vacation and set up their camping gear down the road. All this is happening while the old man’s son watches still hold his Teddy Bear. Later on that night while Clay is still drinking profusely, they are all sitting around a campfire. Clay and his girlfriend Dana (Dana Terpinas), who is pregnant (with the assholes baby), retreat to their tent to have some hot sex in the woods. I mean what would a short film be without a sex scene. This leaves Aaron and his sister Jenny (Nikita Vora) by the fire. Jenny trails off to go get blankets from the truck leaving her wimp brother by the fire. A man appears behind him with a ski mask and the mouth of it sown like his Teddy Bear and you will never believe what happens next.

As a throwback to the 80’s slasher craze, the movie was directed to the “T” for a slasher movie. I am a huge slasher fan myself it was a fun movie to watch. The acting is mediocre. The characters were very well defined though. Clay was the tough, beer drinker that was really hard to like and you were just thrilled that he died. Aaron was a wimpy, weak willed adult who still hung out with his sister instead of a girlfriend which you can assume he has never had. Dana is the slut who likes jerks like Clay to boss her around and give her some “Pourage”. If you don’t know what that means, after you watch this you will know what that means. Jenny, however, is really not defined.

I wish more slasher throwbacks were out there. I don’t even know why the slasher genre died. It was great, how the hell could a horror fan get bored of a maniac wondering around killing people? Teddy did incorporate what is essential in a slasher, a scary looking crazy man with a mask of some sort on. There is a simple formula and this movie followed it on the dot. Predictable at times, still a bundle of fun. Watch out when you watch it…. it is “beary” scary!

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Reviewed by: J.R. Watkins