Director: Jay Burleson
Year: 2022
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
On the eve of a massive football rivalry, residents of a small town gather to celebrate the execution of a mass serial killer before going about their lives, but when they come to believe that the supposedly dead killer is still rampaging through the community band together to stop him.
Review:
Overall, this was a rather fun and enjoyable slasher throwback. One of the better aspects here is the rather fun atmosphere this conjures up playing into the old-school aesthetic that it's trying to ape. The small-town atmosphere here, with the amount of effort spent on the rivalry between everyone here while also trying to deal with the details of the serial killer's execution taking place, serves this quite well with the interlocking storylines expanding onward once the execution is thought to have taken place. With the focus after that part shifting to the rest of the teens in the community who are hanging out and going about their lives unaware of everything but the next chance to get laid, high, or the upcoming game, this all comes off rather fun at building an effective small-town life. When this is all completed with the technical prowess and grain featured here with the look and feel of everything from the time period, it all gets an effective atmosphere.
This all serves the film incredibly well in generating the kind of effective short shock slasher-style ambush sequences that generate a lot of fun. The initial resurrection sequence in the cemetery where the fog-enshrouded land and secretive nature of the burial mission makes for a somewhat chilling first encounter, while the later scenes of the killer running rampant through the community including him scalping victims, breaking their necks, or just showing up unexpectedly at the scene leaving a clue as to what's going to happen next. This all gets the finale ready with a stellar and generally effective series of stalking that manages to highlight the indestructible nature of the killer who’s come back from the dead to be quite fun with how these scenes take place which also serves this nicely with a series of wholly effective practical effects for the kills. These are enough to hold this one up overall.
There are some minor drawbacks with this one that brings it down. One of the bigger detriments is the rather sluggish pacing that takes up a lot of the running time running through setup instead of dealing with the slasher running amok. Despite being out and loose from the very start, the detailing of the residents' lives hanging out smoking drugs, worrying about the game, or whatever else is going on in their lives which makes for a very long time before this one goes for a more overt genre attitude. With almost all of the action relegated to the finale, this can take quite a while before it gets interesting for some regardless of the way this one manages to interject kills along the way to keep it moving. As well, there’s also the problem here with the killer who’s just not that threatening with a lackluster physical presence and just not that much about his motivation for the rampage which can make this somewhat of a struggle to get into and are what holds this back.
Overview: ***.5/5
Generally enjoyable and fun as a slasher throwback, the few flaws here aren’t so bad and generally have quite enough to like here that helps hold this one up enough over those few minor issues. Viewers who appreciate this kind of indie slasher or are not bothered by the flaws should absolutely enjoy this one while those that aren’t a fan of these factors should heed caution.
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