Movie Review: ‘Vicious Fun’

Review by James Lindorf

This year the summer blockbuster season is also horror-comedy season. Last week the excellent Werewolves Within debuted, and hot on its heels is “Vicious Fun” from director Cody Calahan (The Oak Room). Calahan breathes life into James Villeneuve’s celebration of the slasher genre with a heavy focus on the1980s, aka the decade of the slasher. Horror streamer Shudder plans to make a brutal attack on your nostalgia bone when “Vicious Fun” goes live on their service on June 29th.

Joel (Evan Marsh) is a pretentious film critic for a national horror magazine who dreams of writing the next great horror movie. When he isn’t writing or conducting interviews, Joel is most likely somewhere pining for his best friend and roommate Sarah (Alexa Rose Steele). While trying to get dirt on Sarah’s newest guy Joel finds himself unwittingly trapped in a self-help group for serial killers. Unless he wants to be their next victim, Joel must attempt to blend in with his homicidal surroundings.

It has been a rough 16 months for people, and nothing can bring a smile to your face quite like nostalgia. Villeneuve was born in the late 70s and Calahan in the early 80s, back when the reins on what kids watched weren’t held so tightly. As a result, many people from their mid-30s and up see this style of movie as a homecoming. The older members of that group are reminded of times in the theaters laughing or screaming along with friends. At the same time, those on the younger end recall hiding under the covers at home, avoiding the exact moment when the knife was plunged into a victim.

“Vicious Fun” shares many qualities with those classic movies. It starts with a poster that would have made a genuinely eye-catching VHS cover that would have drawn loads of attention at your local video store. Then there was the synth-based score that John Carpenter would have been proud of creating. Villeneuve and Calahan assembled a great team of killers modeled after the great slashers in cinema history. It would have been great to have the originals, but movie rights would have made that impossible. Instead, they gave those classic characters their spin giving us South Korean Chainsaw Massacre, Wednesday the 11th, British Psycho, a clown-themed Dr. Giggles, and the most notorious mass murderer ever, the American Government. They each bring their own style of humor and horror to the movie, which keeps the film evolving and interests levels high.

Joel is another throwback to the 80s. Joel is the quintessential Duckie style character, but unlike all those brat pack movies, he is the main character. While that type of character is all over the 80s, it is a bit old-fashioned for 2021. It comes off as less endearing and more like Joel spends a disturbing amount of time on the internet yelling about being a nice guy. Thankful Joel has a character arc and learns about the boundaries of friendship and what the give and take of how a relationship should be.

One of the most significant departures from that 80s aesthetic is that the hero of “Vicious Fun” is a heroine. Carrie (Amber Goldfarb) is an obvious nod to the famous Stephen King character, but unlike that outcast, this Carrie is cool, enigmatic, beautiful, and a total badass. She is much more in line with this decade because if she were created in the 80s, she would be mentioned right after icons Ripley and Sarah Conner. Right now, the third-ranked heroine is probably Red Sonja, and that, cult status aside, is embarrassing and quite sad.

“Vicious Fun” is a fun throwback, but it sells itself a bit high. While entertaining throughout, it never approaches the level of viciousness. Bob (Ari Millen), the main antagonist, is well performed, but he is undoubtedly more whacky than intimidating. He should be the most terrifying of the bunch, and unfortunately, he might be the least imposing. Villeneuve and Calahan made the cops too bumbling and then couldn’t be bothered to give them good deaths. Unfortunately, uninteresting deaths are common and the biggest fault of the film. The deaths are unevenly paced and lack the inventiveness to be memorable after the credits. “Vicious Fun” is a well-made homage to 80s slashers, but its lack of punch drops its score to a 3.5 out of 5.

Genre: Horror, Comedy
Original Language: English
Director: Cody Calahan
Producer: Chad Archibald, Cody Calahan
Writer: James Villeneuve
Release Date: June 29th, 2021
Runtime: 1h 41m