Director: Roger Conners
Year: 2026
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
After an accident while out dancing, a man responsible for the death of a friend is released from prison several years later and tries to reintegrate himself into his friend group, but when a masked killer begins relentlessly stalking their group, he must find out who it is and stop them.
Review:
Overall, there’s a lot to like here that holds this one up quite well. Among the better elements of this one is the incredibly effective and likable storyline that serves to introduce a series of solid storylines and ideas throughout. With the first part of this one focusing on the ordeal of the fateful night, where a group of friends gets together for a night of partying, dancing, drug use, and general hook-ups, the accident that sets everything in motion when one of their friends is killed offers a strong starting point that plays out. The aftermath of the incident, with the one guy getting thrown in prison for the incident and the friend group torn asunder, so that when he’s released and tries to make amends as a way of moving on, the struggles he has fitting back in with everyone else while he is still affected by the grief of the situation make for a great series of interconnecting stories. With the different members of the group trying to work through what happened and whether or not he’s the one responsible for everything keeps up a fun mystery angle as well, making the story as a whole immensely effective and enjoyable. With everyone here also managing to make the film quite comfortable with its queer focus and content, dripping in the nightlife and party scene quite nicely as well as the openness of the nudity featured here.
That all gets brought up with the use of the twisting, involved narrative to offer a slew of genuinely impressive stalking and slashing scenes. Bolstered by one of the most genuinely imposing, visually striking, and outright terrifying killer designs ever, with the leather studded jacket, gloves, and chrome-studded mask that immediately creates a fantastic impression, the scenes themselves work incredibly well here. The initial stalking at the friends’ house, where the housemaid and then the main target are stalked in a fantastic ambush that also goes for the surreal, as one of the victims is drugged and the effects take hold in the middle of the chase, gets this off to a great start. Likewise, fantastic setpieces in the showers of a gym locker-room after hours, an extended chase scene through a hook-up spot with one victim clad only in a towel the entire time, and a sudden appearance at the house of one of the friends where several victims are knocked off, some worthwhile stalking scenes set the stage for the great finale that ties up several loose ends involving a great killer reveal, some intriguing aspects involving getting the upperhand on the killer, and the eventual resolution of everything that is all quite fun. Alongside the stellar gore for the kills here, these all make for a lot of worthwhile factors here.
There are a few small issues here that hold this down. The main factor to be had with this one is the somewhat excessive running time where, despite a lot of worthwhile factors here building up the characters and their plight, it does tend to feel overlong at points. While setting up the kind of full-scale knowledge about the main group so that we set up the kind of accident that sends him away for the crime and how him being released years later tries to get back with the group, including the gym teacher, the girlfriend now being with a local cop, and the rest working at the fashion house that allows him to get a job there to get back on his feet, there are some pacing issues here that makes it take a while to get going. This goes on a bit longer than it should, detailing these changes before the rampage starts, and despite the fun work it does in making everyone relatable and fun to be around, that amount of time does become noticeable. The other issue here is a series of bizarre interactions that take place with the police who are investigating the main guy during the whole ordeal, as this is full of obvious clues that he’s not responsible for, even though he’s around for several of the incidents, so everything is insistent on continuing a bit that doesn’t make sense. Otherwise, there’s not much here holding it down.
Overview: ****.5/5
An immensely likable and effective indie slasher, there’s plenty going on here that makes this a solid overall genre effort despite a few minor issues that do crop up throughout here. Those with an interest in the subject matter, who appreciate this kind of indie approach overall, or who are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like here, while most others out there might want to heed caution.
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