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Social media and serial killers don’t necessarily go hand in hand. They will soon enough. Trust in that nonsense. Facebook “factoids” will be the death of us all. With a satirical edge to its tweets and a gleeful embracing of some severe wickedness, Tragedy Girls, a new horror comedy debuting this week in select cities, lands squarely in our laps daring us to look away as it swings its sharp-edged sword toward our necks.
The film, wild and fierce, is a hugely successful flick that is clever in its takedown of our social constructs, even if it does present our lead girls as stereotypical teen girls. Tragedy Girls, like Heathers before it, is all about that cult-like following that is sure to gather around it. It is also quite hysterical AND brutal as it serves up more than one head on a platter, including our own.
Actresses Brianna Hildebrand (Deadpool) and Alexandra Shipp (X-Men: Apocalypse) play high school BFFs, Sadie and McKayla, who are nearing their own graduation. The girls come from happy homes and, as successful students, are trying to get an online presence as they report on the blooming tragedies that continue to surround their city.
Someone is on a social media killing spree. Is that a thing?
The girls are also cheerleaders, have an interest in hot boys, and are constantly on their phones. These two, much to some audiences’ displeasure, are normal teenagers in every way possible. One even has a blue spot in her hair. How utterly normal these girls are. Except for one little thing. These two girls, revealed in the film’s opening moments as a horror genre staple is cleverly turned on its ear, are burgeoning serial killers.
And no one is safe from their tailored swift (and deadly) decrees.
Raised in a world of “likes” and “feeds” and instant gratification, these millennial girls have developed a bloodthirsty need to kill that would shame even the BTK killer. And their constant need for recognition and other surface-level modes of communication via Twitter and Facebook has brought about the need for them to create fake responses to their own kills.
Of course, these are the murders they are conducting. The problem is that they have yet to figure out how to commit the kills without unintentionally making it look like an accident. And it is pissing them off. It’s their murder, damn it. They want people to fear them, not think it was accidental. What they need is a teacher and so they go about trying to secure one. Thus, Tragedy Girls is born bloody and kicking.
Directed and co-written by Tyler MacIntyre (Patchwork) and co-starring Josh Hutcherson, Kevin Durand, Nicky Whelan, Jack Quaid, and Craig Robinson, Chris Lee’s-penned horror comes in the frequent blood baths of these teens fierce remarks and their kills. MacIntyre doesn’t back away from highlighting the extreme gore and the hysterical situation of some of the girls’ poorly planned kills. Lots of things go wrong and this only intensifies the gore – “It’s on my shoes!” – and the funniness they find themselves caught up in. To suggest this film is a dark comedy is almost the understatement of the year. This thing goes “lights out” dark and demented as it approaches its dénouement with a locked high school and a fire inside. Tasteless considering the times? Maybe. But, honestly, this is not the real world these girls live in.
But all of it works to create something unique that Horror Hounds and their Ghoulie-Ghouls will love. From the “all in” performances of the cast to the gore and blood spatter of the kills, Tragedy Girls definitely makes its presence known as a new gruesome twosome enters the Horror scene.
Narcissism gets naughty in Tragedy Girls.
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[tab title="Details"]
MPAA Rating: R for strong bloody horror violence, and language including some sexual references.
Runtime: 98 mins
Director: Tyler MacIntyre
Writer: Chris Lee Hill, Tyler MacIntyre
Cast: Josh Hutcherson, Brianna Hildebrand, Kevin Durand
Genre: Horror | Comedy
Tagline: A chilling blend of American Graffiti and Psycho.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Friends who slay together, stay together."
Theatrical Distributor: Gunpowder & Sky
Official Site: https://www.tragedygirlsmovie.com/
Release Date: October 20, 2017
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: No details available.
Synopsis: Sadie and McKayla are the Tragedy Girls, two aspiring social media stars who will do absolutely anything to achieve fame. Their plan involves kidnapping a local serial killer, and forcing him to mentor them on how to commit murders that will gain national attention and turn them into legends. With a long list of potential victims ahead of them, Sadie and McKayla must figure out how to fit their killing spree in between cheerleading practice and the yearbook committee.
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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
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