Director: Troy Escamilla
Year: 2018
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: Stirring
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
Gathering together at a sorority party, a woman joins the rest of her sisters in the house where her older sister was killed, and as they party on through the night they realize that their dwindling numbers are due to a masked serial killer stalking them in revenge for the past and must try to get away alive.
Review:
There was a lot to like with this indie slasher. One of the strongest aspects to like with this one is the engaging and times heartwarming first half that makes this one incredibly enjoyable. The initial backstory setup that shows the hazing and torment in the sorority features a great series of motivations for later that gives the killer’s revenge plenty of reasonable buildup. As well, the work done to show the group at the party as a group of true friends here, featuring no drama or confrontations with each other as they’re friendly, engaging and humanistic with each in how they’re all hanging out at the party together does this one the remarkable feat of providing a group that’s great to be around. As this here makes the resulting killing spree against them later have more of an impact since the killer is taking out people that were fun to be around, that adds a lot to the suspense of the situation.
That leads nicely into the film’s indie-flavored stalking scenes. The backstory opening is quite vicious and sets this off on a great note, while the surprise ambush in the car in the present is quite shocking. That leads to the prevailing pattern for the rest of the attacks as the characters get an extended scene where they go about their business only to have the killer appear behind them out of nowhere to deliver the killing blow, sacrificing stalking-centered suspense for straightforward shock scenes starting with the Christmas tree ambush, the double-impaling out in the garage, the sneaking into the police car and the kitchen encounter. The finale is the closest to more traditional slasher stalking with the revelation that the killer’s in the house and getting some great confrontations and encounters throughout here that gives the film a frenzied, enjoyable time. Since these do feature plenty of nice bloodshed and creative gore, this one has a solid amount of bloodshed to it.
As well, the cast here works for this type of film. Hailey Strader as lead Danielle is fine, who does well with the calmer sequences but struggles somewhat with the harsher scenes where she flies off at her friends. Her boyfriend Kyle, played by Billy Brannigan, is great as the secretive entity who tries to keep everyone calm in the situation while being fun with Hailey in their scenes together. Ryan Poole as the jock Grant is not a stereotypical meathead athlete, caring about his friends and placating their holiday party shenanigans. Heather Bounds as the other sorority sister Kayla makes the best impression as the sweet and innocent housemate trying to keep everything rolling along while being friends with everyone. Legendary scream queens Helene Udy and Brinke Stevens turn out with more to do than just one-day cameos to get their names on the cover art, appearing in enough to justify their appearances. Coupled with solid appearances from indie darlings Kaylee Williams, Mel Heflin, Daiane Azura and Drew Shotwell among others to complete the immersive cast of characters, there’s plenty to like overall here.
This one does have a few issues. Among the main problems here are the completely unrealistic actions that place throughout here simply to move the plot along. The moment the threatening emails arrive, the proper reaction should’ve been horror at the thoughts being hinted at where they were going to kill her, not to freak out about somebody sending them a message about the anniversary of her sisters’ death. Likewise, the entire sorority constantly bringing up the incident around her has no sensible outcome, the instances where everyone finds ways to split up from the party to go alone so that the killer can get them and the inability to understand the gravity of the killer around them makes for a really obvious series of scenes that just move the film along. Some of the usual indie flavors plague this one, from its cheap production values and gore also appear but they’re not detrimental compared to the other issues.
Overview: ***/5
A step-up from his previous film although still tinged with several indie-flavored elements that keep this down, there’s a lot more to like here for fans that enjoy and appreciate these kinds of efforts. Give this a shot if you’re a fan of the directors’ other works or looking for a solid indie slasher, while those unappreciative of those aspects should heed caution with this one.
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