Kill Game (2015) Directed by Robert Mearns
Surprise, surprise! Here's a modern, low-budget, horror/slasher movie that doesn't suck. As a matter of fact, I surprisingly liked it.
This movie basically is a good old-fashioned slasher, while still managing to feel like a very modern movie as well. It relies on all of the familiar old slasher clichés but in this case that's even a good thing to say, since most modern genre attempts deviate so much from what slashers used to be in the 'old' days that it actually feels like a breath of fresh air how this movie isn't relying on cheap scares, sleazy teen characters and gallons of blood, just for the shock value. It's more relying on its concept of having a serial killer walking around, killing a group of old classmates one by one, while being more of an old fashioned whodunit as well.
And you have to realize; this also is how slashers initially started off like during the '60's and early '70's, before directors such as John Carpenter and Wes Craven stepped in and reinvented the genre, with supernatural killers. Before that point slashers, most of the time, were still whodunits, in which the killer was human and who's identity always got revealed by the end. Without giving away too much about this movie and how it plays out, this is also mostly the path this movie follows, without ever feeling outdated or old fashioned in any kind of way.
It's a cheaply made movie and sure, this also shows at times but I can honestly say that for most of the time it's absolutely no distraction or issue at all, as often is the case with movies of this sort. It's a decent enough looking movie, that maybe is a bit too dark but the camera-work, editing, directing and practical effects all ensure that this simply is a pretty decent and definitely watchable, low-budget, straightforward slasher.
No, it clearly is not a perfect movie though and the characters for instance aren't the best written ones and for the lovers of slashers and gore there maybe aren't enough creative killings and gory moments in it but in all of its simplicity it still works out better and more pleasantly to watch than the average modern genre attempt, even (or perhaps I should say especially) the ones with a significantly bigger budget and more star-power behind it.
6/10
Watch trailer
This movie basically is a good old-fashioned slasher, while still managing to feel like a very modern movie as well. It relies on all of the familiar old slasher clichés but in this case that's even a good thing to say, since most modern genre attempts deviate so much from what slashers used to be in the 'old' days that it actually feels like a breath of fresh air how this movie isn't relying on cheap scares, sleazy teen characters and gallons of blood, just for the shock value. It's more relying on its concept of having a serial killer walking around, killing a group of old classmates one by one, while being more of an old fashioned whodunit as well.
And you have to realize; this also is how slashers initially started off like during the '60's and early '70's, before directors such as John Carpenter and Wes Craven stepped in and reinvented the genre, with supernatural killers. Before that point slashers, most of the time, were still whodunits, in which the killer was human and who's identity always got revealed by the end. Without giving away too much about this movie and how it plays out, this is also mostly the path this movie follows, without ever feeling outdated or old fashioned in any kind of way.
It's a cheaply made movie and sure, this also shows at times but I can honestly say that for most of the time it's absolutely no distraction or issue at all, as often is the case with movies of this sort. It's a decent enough looking movie, that maybe is a bit too dark but the camera-work, editing, directing and practical effects all ensure that this simply is a pretty decent and definitely watchable, low-budget, straightforward slasher.
No, it clearly is not a perfect movie though and the characters for instance aren't the best written ones and for the lovers of slashers and gore there maybe aren't enough creative killings and gory moments in it but in all of its simplicity it still works out better and more pleasantly to watch than the average modern genre attempt, even (or perhaps I should say especially) the ones with a significantly bigger budget and more star-power behind it.
6/10
Watch trailer
