When I saw the trailer for a romantic comedy / slasher with a very derivative masked killer with some kind of a bladed weapon, I was not expecting much.
On the other hand, there is also a history of people making specifically horror comedies work with other genres. Think Shaun of the Dead, Happy Death Day and Bodies Bodies Bodies. There is something special about these. They have this feel of being glossy, but cheap, and yet they manage to find a nice middleground.
So, last two years have seen a massacre specifically during Valentine’s Day. First Boston, then Philadelphia, now Seattle. Ally completely fucks up a marketing campaign for jewelry that’s seen as tonedeaf as it includes reworked scenes from movies where one part of a romantic couple dies and it doesn’t sit well when there’s a serial killer specifically killing couples. Jay, a freelance consultant, is called in to help. This follows romantic comedy structure: first they meet in a situation where they are pitted against each other, they warm to each other over time, one of them (Ally) shuts Jay down before they reconcile. That’s the template. You fill that. In this case with a lot of killing.
The first surprise is that I don’t find the couple grating. They are well-written, they have depth and they have pretty good chemistry. They actually spend a lot of time early in the movie setting them up before they meet the killer. They are not a couple, so they end up targeted just by chance (although it is explained well in the movie). To balance this out, there is a couple that is murdered right at the top along with couple of by-standers.
The two of them are quite adept at surviving, but it never feels unrealistic. They are just smart people, who figure things out. We learn that Ally used to study medicine, so she has specific knowledge of a lot of things.
The movie is also quite fun. For example, one of the best scenes is quite simple as the two of them are hiding from the killer, having a discussion and furthering their relationship, but at the same time, there is another couple having noisy sex right behind them. That is just so absurd that it works.
Another fun aspect is that basically every couple around them is more or less fucked up. The first couple killed are using a lot of money to force a romantic moment so that they can fulfill some plan as they are becoming engaged, Ally’s best friend is in a relationship, or sponsored, as she puts it, by a much older man, the couple having sex next to them see the whole thing as some kinky roleplay, and Ally’s ex feels the need to publicize everything he does with his new girlfriend and is still taking her out to dinner even though they knew the couple from the beginning of the movie. No wonder Ally is hesitent to get into anything.
The movie was more expensive to make then I was expecting at $18 million (it didn’t open very well, but it did actually manage to grow on the second weekend, which is very rare, but understandable due to having been released just a week prior to Valentine’s), so that might kill the chances of a sequel, but it seems that they were specifically trying to make a new iconic killer. They do it more subtly then usual, but they did leave the door open for that.
There are problems here. It is brought up that Jay was actually in each of the three cities when the massacre’s happened, but that is never addressed beyond him explaining that he travels a lot. Also, if you pay attention, you’ll figure out what’s going on. Someone actually says it and by saying that they kind of expose that they know more than they should. Still, that’s not that important, when the movie is fun.
All in all, I liked the movie very much. It talks about a topic that many people find themselves drawn and sympathetic to (complexities of modern dating) while doing it in a very entertaining and bloody way. I’m very glad they didn’t try to make this PG-13 and just went with an R. The kills are mostly not very creative, but they are set up nicely.