Prime Video’s Totally Killer is another Blumhouse production that has Us on the edge of our seats with its perfect combination of horror and humor.
According to a plot synopsis from Prime Video, Totally Killer is set three decades after the shocking murder of several teens. “The infamous Sweet Sixteen Killer returns on Halloween night to claim a fourth victim. 17-year-old Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) ignores her overprotective mom’s (Julie Bowen) warning and comes face to face with the masked maniac and on the run for her life, accidentally time travels back to 1987, the year of the original killings,” the statement reads. “Forced to navigate the unfamiliar and outrageous culture of the 1980s, Jamie teams up with her teen mom (Olivia Holt) to take down the killer once and for all before she’s stuck in the past forever.”
The streaming service released a trailer in September 2023 — one month before the film’s release date — that offered a glimpse at the story. Director Nahnatchka Khan said it was an interesting experience balancing the film’s various genres.
“I’ve always been a fan of genre mash-ups and love the crossover of slasher/horror and comedy — the idea of creating tension and a real threat and then using comedy as a release valve was really appealing to me,” Khan said to Cosmopolitan in August 2023. “And on top of that, adding in the time travel and the 80s and the meta-ness of someone from 2023 traveling back in time having seen movies about other people traveling back in time — there were so many fun elements and dynamics I was excited to play with.”
Scroll on for everything to know about Totally Killer:
What Is the Plot of ‘Totally Killer’?
The upcoming film follows Jamie — whose mom was almost the victim of the Sweet Sixteen Killer on Halloween as a teenager. Three decades later, Jamie ends up traveling back in time to 1987 to stop the killer and she doesn’t have much time before she’s trapped in the past forever.
When Will ‘Totally Killer’ Be Released?
Totally Killer will be streaming on Prime Video starting October 6, 2023.
Who Stars in ‘Totally Killer’?
Shipka, Holt, Bowen, Randall Park, Lochlyn Munro and Liana Liberato star in Totally Killer. Kelcey Mawema, Stephi Chin-Salvo, Anna Diaz, Jeremy Monn-Djasgnar, Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson, Ella Choi, Nathaniel Appiah and Jonathan Potts round out the cast.
What Did the Trailer Reveal?
Prime Video released the official sneak peek at the movie in September 2023, which featured Shipka’s character trying to blend into the ’80s while tracking down a murder. Her attempts to get help from this version of her mom also presented some unexpected complications.
What Can Viewers Expect from the Movie?
Ahead of the SAG strike, Shipka opened up about going back to her horror roots after her memorable lead role on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
“I love the horror genre. I like that it can be extraordinarily gripping and terrifying, and psychologically mess you up for a couple days,” she told Cosmopolitan. “Or it can also just be this joyous movie experience.”
Shipka continued: “[My character] Jamie is a very modern teen girl — she’s flawed, spends too much time on her phone and is not yet thinking about the bigger picture of her life. All of a sudden, she’s forced to grow up very quickly to take control of her situation and through this awakening, discovers how brave she is.”
How Did the ‘Totally Killer’ Find the Right Tone?
During an interview, Khan praised the way the cast and the crew collaborated on bringing the project to life.
“The entire cast was fantastic, they all knew exactly the tone we were going for, when to dial it up and down, and were able to toggle back and forth between the comedy and horror in a way that made it feel effortless,” she shared in August 2023. “The most challenging thing was trying to figure out how to shoot a waterbed kill sequence with practical water and blood effects and not ruin the white bedroom carpet of the lovely couple whose home we were shooting in.”
