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There have been lots of films described in terms of them being something meets something else. Edge of Tomorrow is Independence Day meets Groundhog Day, Black Panther is X-Men meets The Lion King, Under the Skin is ET meets 9 1/2 Weeks. This convention is even played on in the opening scene of Robert Altman’s Hollywood parody The Player when some keen writer is seen pitching a new project as Out of Africa meets Pretty Woman.

Some films really lean into this though. Last year’s Freaky was actually intended to be called Freaky Friday the 13th but they couldn’t get permission to use it from the respective companies behind the two films referenced in that title. Now from the same studio that made that movie, we have this film which is very much being sold as Back to the Future meets Scream. I have to tell you that in this case they are not kidding; Totally Killer actually shares plot beats from these films and has clear substitute characters for various players. This is done quite transparently though and they are owning the homage and then some. At one point the lead even says ‘Think of me as Marty McFly’, and then later ‘Maybe there are two killers, like Scream’. One key difference is that, this being a 2023 movie, the thirty something time jump here goes back to 1987, and as a result this plays similarly heavily, and equally openly, on the conventions of the John Hughes movies.

This, to some extent, makes Totally Killer a little obvious but it also makes it is utterly delightful. The handling of the filmic intertextuality is a treat and the movie a fun journey through genre heritage. Add to this inventive plotting, a charismatic lead performance from Kiernan Shipka (of recent Sabrina fame) and some neat commentary on changing contemporary attitudes then you’ve absolutely got a win.

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The Ripley Factor:

Run off a list of ten time travel movies and tell me how many of them have a female lead. For some reason this is a very male dominated genre, not even Sarah Conner got to be the protagonist in any of the three films she was in. Refreshing then that we see something different here.

Of course when it comes to slasher flicks, there are plenty of girls at the centre, but it wasn’t really until the original Scream until these women were consistently positive, empowered, right thinking individuals.

The cinematic history here plays into Totally Killer as much as it does anywhere else and with the same satisfying results.