VICIOUS FUN, DIRECTED BY CODY CALAHAN (HORROR FILM REVIEW)

Vicious Fun, directed by Cody Calahan (horror Film Review)

11/7/2021

Vicious Fun is sharp, it’s witty, it’s bloody - it’s everything you might want in a horror-comedy. I know I’m hardly going to be the first or last reviewer to say this, but… yes, Vicious Fun more than lives up to its title.

VICIOUS FUN, DIRECTED BY CODY CALAHAN
(A HORROR FILM REVIEW BY SAM KURD)

Director Cody Calahan
Writers Cody Calahan (story by) James Villeneuve
Stars Evan Marsh, Amber Goldfarb, Ari Millen

Joel, a caustic 1980s film critic for a national horror magazine, finds himself unwittingly trapped in a self-help group for serial killers. With no other choice, Joel attempts to blend in or risk becoming the next victim.

What’s worse than being trapped in a building with a serial killer who’s out to get you? Being trapped in a building with a whole bunch of serial killers who’re out to get you!

Vicious Fun is the latest film from director Cody Calahan (Anti Social & Anti Social 2) and is the feature debut of writer James Villeneuve. The year is 1983, and Joel (Ewan Marsh – Shazam!) is a journalist for horror magazine Vicious Fanatics. Joel is also an asshole, the kind of guy who obnoxiously picks movies apart for fun, makes not liking things a fundamental part of his personality and obsesses over a roommate who’s clearly not into him.

One night, he jealously follows his room-mate's weird date to a bar (a totally normal thing to do, not creepy at all) and drowns his sorrows so effectively that he passes out. When he comes to, the bar is shut for the night… but it’s not empty. Joel stumbles into what he takes to be a support-group of some kind, but he soon finds he’s in over his head as the group turns out to be full of vicious serial killers, gathered for their semi-regular meeting to appreciate all things murder.

Can Joel outwit these monsters and survive the night?

It’s a simple plot, with very little in the way of unexpected twisty-turnedness. But that’s absolutely fine, because this film knows what it needs to be and delivers in spades. It’s all about the characters and the gags, and both are on great form. The killers all follow various familiar archetypes, like Mike the Jason-Voorhees-alike (Robert Maillet – The Strain), Carrie the hitchhiker (Amber Goldfarb - Helix) and Fritz the fastidious accountant/giggling psychoclown (Julian Richings – Anything for Jackson). All of them are clearly having a great time leaning into their roles, but none more so than Ari Millen (Orphan Black) as Ben, the Patrick-Bateman-alike sociopath. Millen steals every scene, especially with his weird funky little jukebox dance.

In fact, of all the characters, the most unlikeable was Joel himself. That’s through no fault of Marsh’s, as he did a great job as the sleazy dirtbag loser. But even with his self-improvement arc, I found it hard to root for him against the much more interesting rogue’s gallery – especially Carrie, who might have made for a more interesting protagonist if this had been her film. It felt like there was a dangling plot thread in her backstory that I kept expecting to be resolved by the end, but unless I missed it somehow it’s just left unresolved. Perhaps as sequel bait? It was a little bit disappointing, to be honest.

But it’s hard not to get swept up in it all, especially once the first kill happens and you realise quite how gruesome this is going to get. They don’t skimp on the brutality of the kills, but it’s all played in a loving tongue-in-cheek way so it never feels like the tone’s uneven. There were a couple of moments where I found myself wincing and grimacing, which is always a good thing! The humour landed almost as well too, though viewer beware: prepare to cringe with second-hand embarrassment a few times.

It’s just great to look at, too, all drenched in neon and 80s grime. Calahan and his DOP, regular collaborator Jeff Maher, have a great eye for a shot and though it’s rarely flashy it always looks slick. I loved the occasional use of split-screen too – more films should use it when it fits the style, and it certainly did here!The synth soundtrack is excellent too; it seems to be something of a huge trend right now, but with this being actually set in the 80s it fits the mood very well. Steph Copeland did a great job, and I was disappointed not to find the soundtrack in Spotify to write this article to!

Vicious Fun is sharp, it’s witty, it’s bloody - it’s everything you might want in a horror-comedy. I know I’m hardly going to be the first or last reviewer to say this, but… yes, Vicious Fun more than lives up to its title.