Killer Holiday (2013) User Reviews

Poor excuse for a thriller

[joewise808080 · 2/10 · 20 November 2013]

Killer holiday is a poor excuse for a thriller movie. You realize within 5 minutes of watching this movie it is going to be a flop.

Long story short, there is a crazy guy going around killing people. The movie has very few thrilling experiences. There are many poorly executed 'thrilling' scenes due to being a low budget movie. The story line is very stereotypical with nothing new.

All the actors are unknown. I think one or two try their best with little success.

Overall, this is a poor quality movie and I would not waste your time watching it. I think a 2 is fair.

pretty tame slasher

[kyleallencole9 · 4/10 · 8 November 2013]

Just recently bought this and overall it was pretty average. It's along the lines of Dark Ride and The Funhouse, which were better. I enjoyed the cast and the setting. The kills were kind of bloody and there is a couple unique death scenes as well. However, there were a couple plot holes that were not explained very well, especially when they showed scenes about the killers childhood. I enjoyed the twist towards the end though. A fact i learned about when watched the making of the film, one of the teen actors, Alex Mandel, is the son of Howie Mandel. In my opinion, i feel like they should of picked someone scarier to play the role of spider. Michael Copon did okay, but just didn't give me chills. All in all, it wasn't a bad film, it's worth a watch.

Utterly terrible and lame slasher

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 2/10 · 1 October 2016]

Taking a road-trip for college, a group of friends find themselves drawn to an abandoned amusement park where their activities bring them into contact with a vicious serial killer living at the park and must find a way to stop him to get away alive.

This here was a rather atrocious slasher and only had some worthwhile moments. Among the few solid parts here is the fact that there's just an absolutely blistering pace to this one once it makes it's way to the abandoned amusement park where it goes for a strong series of action scenes in the bowels of the facility. This has some of the film's only attempts at suspense and enjoyment as the stalking present here is quite fun with the twirling-car ride stalking, the guys down with the series of traps and the different series of brawling throughout the hiding-grounds deep underground which leads to some decently-gory kills there, giving this the film's best qualities. Still, there's some pretty big flaws to this one. One of the bigger problems here is that there's yet another cast full of utterly intolerable characters that don't for the slightest second scream like a group of friends hanging out with each other much during the majority of the film. There's plenty of cruel ribbing and utterly mean pranks that are supposedly committed in the name of trying to kill time on a road-trip yet none of these really make for an engaging or enjoyable time as there's not much about it that makes them seem that worthwhile to be followed. On top of that, there's the fact that the film features so much time with them driving along to get there that it's simply a matter of not really having that much interesting stuff to do during there as the film's focus on them getting sidetracked by the different attendants at their stops as the unnecessary scenes of them in the snake's cage or going around twice to the motel owner are just perfect examples of that. Not only that, the fact that these here create such an extended running time before the killings start that the pacing is off throughout here with the utterly bland first-half before getting to the rushed stalking scenes in the later half, even though these are well aren't that impressive either with the utterly low-quality work to them and are so haphazardly shot and arranged that there's little impact to be had from them. This one also gets rather artistic for no reason here with the rather inane ability to go for a black-and-white insert for many of the various scenes makes for some rather questionable decisions during these scenes and stick out incredibly well. The main issue, though, beyond all these problems is the fact that the killer is one of the lamest and most non- threatening killers in the genre's history which really takes out so much of the film's powers here by showing him to be a deranged lunatic that makes quips at his victims, tends to come up with the lamest possible kills and is a smiling, arrogant douchebag more than a philosophical cunning mastermind as there's just no way to take him seriously and the gut reaction of his antics is simply laughter. These here are what really hold this one back so much as to be quite disappointing.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Brief Nudity and a mild sex scene.

a waste of money for sure

[ilovealicia67 · 1/10 · 17 November 2013]

This was a bore factory for sure. Dumbest serial killer not convicting at all. Was looking for a laugh threw this horror mess and got a few. This movie is the equivalent to going to an opera and watching an actor scream wildly while beating a dog with a harmonica. 1 out of 10 stars buddy! Last week unlucky charms was so bad it's good but killer holiday was so bad it's bad. The Africa American man was my favorite character in this movie with top bitch one liners of "somebody died" and the the greatest scene where spider chops off his girl friends arm with her telling him as she had a limb dismembered how spider is an idiot. classic "look there is a sign"

Slow paced yawner

[dawnferris · 4/10 · 31 December 2013]

I wanted to like this movie, I really did. But it just didn't have what it takes to be a good movie. Horror films, especially B Horror (and I love B Horror) really needs to pick the pace up quickly. And if you aren't gonna have some deaths early on then at least show us a bit of back story. This movie had one death early on then nothing for 40 minutes. The actors did great. They didn't sound fake or like they were , well, acting.They did great considering the script they had to work with. The filming it's self was adequate(with the exception of the quick flash backs and sudden black and white bits)It was purely the story line that spoiled this movie. It's okay, but not great.

Killer Holiday

[Scarecrow-88 · 4/10 · 17 August 2016]

College-age kids decide on a rad road trip, looking forward to a killer summer of partying, but unexpectedly they fall prey to an unhinged psycho named Spider (Michael Copon) who loves to mock them while pursuing and butchering them at an abandoned amusement part off the beaten path. The kids ride in a RV, hitting ole Route 66, when a fallen sign leads them to the park that will be where the vacation for most of them is stopped…dead.

Rachel Lara, donning striking red hair and a flaming sensuality to match, makes quite an impression (just plain sexy and performs a little number for the boys in front of a camp fire before settling on the lap of hunky David Namminga) among the cast. Coupon clearly looks for his inner Fred Krueger, while the rest of the cast is either ridiculously lured to him without a clue that he might be dangerous or running all over the place, scattering apart so they can be picked off one at a time. Julia Beth Stern is the cute "nerd" (she isn't really all that geeky, though, as she's relaxed with the rest of them and even wears a hoody) who finds herself as the "final girl" by film's end…there's a particular attachment she has with the killer to be revealed, too. Two twists with a ludicrous final image that is a bit too much. Also too much is the director's emphasis on slow motion, repeated action in B&W photography (that does nothing but interfere with the pace and distract from the "plot"), and ADD editing which jerks us around and doesn't truly help make the film effective. There's some clever kill gags like the use of a rigged guitar with a sharp handle, an accidental arm decapitation, and shards of glass from one of those mirror rides flying right into the face of a victim trapped in a bucket seat. There's a nasty use of a broken bottle, impaled forcibly through a victim (for extra impact, Coupon waits, allowing his victim "to breathe" and even preparing her for the inevitable death), and the knife killing of Lara's parents while the kids are outside the house by the RV definitely sets up Coupon as a nutcase with little difficulty torturing and taking the lives of innocents for kicks.

I think the amusement park could be just a bit more atmospheric and spooky, and, sadly, there's very little definition of the place (Dark Ride (2006) seems to do a better job of it), with a bit too much darkness. I also felt if they had made the amusement park more weathered, dilapidated, and aged, it could have really brought some needed eye candy to accompany the attractive cast. As far as the dialogue and acting: there's nothing significantly distinguished. If you like the usual stalk and stab slasher, this fits the formula, right down to the "family revelations" and "you thought he was gone, well don't we have a surprise for you!!!" conclusion. The butcher knife remains the go-to weapon of choice for this slasher's killer. This film decided to show the killer immediately and establish him as ruthless and cruel. Its heart is aimed for that low budget slasher audience that doesn't necessarily request much diversion from the norm.

"Disappointing!"

[gwnightscream · 3/10 · 10 July 2016]

This 2013 film stars Michael Copon, Julia Beth Stern and Rachel Lara. This focuses on teenage girl, Cammi (Stern) who is talked by her friend, Taylor (Lara) into going on a road trip for Spring break with some other friends. Soon, a psychotic killer, Melvin aka Spider (Copon) follows them to an abandoned carnival/amusement park where he plays a deadly game of cat and mouse. Copon isn't bad yet over the top as the killer and the film pays homage to "The Funhouse" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." It had potential for it's surroundings, but is ruined by a far-fetched plot twist. I'd probably give this a try only if you enjoy horror/thriller flicks, but it's disappointing.

Waste of time

[funnycommentor · 3/10 · 26 April 2021]

It's a low budget horror movie, including a bunch of stupid teenagers. First of all, the characters were annoying and basic, the editing of the movie was awful and the casting wasn't good. The ending was predictable. The storyline was really bad too.

Read bad reviews, actually a great movie

[shelise777 · 8/10 · 18 July 2018]

If you are a lover of great horror thrillers, and have any sense of film history you could not enjoy Killer Holiday more. For a very low budget Lionsgate movie, it screens like a 5 million dollar film. A large cast, with diversed locations, the movie delivers a large bounty for the movie goer. Bought it for my sister as a Halloween gift.

New Age Funhouse?

[enterthefunhouse · 6/10 · 29 December 2013]

This movie is an example of what I like to call "The New Wave of Slasher Films" that I've been renting lately: Killer Holiday -- It's like your young novice Director's starting his first project for college and whatever and he decides to throw together My personal favorite slasher film --The Funhouse-- along with The Hills Have Eyes and add a dash of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The Director definitely knew how to get the most out of the props and settings that were available and, at times, tried to get that garish carnival Funhouse look going as if I had traveled back in time to some seedy Drive-In and was watching a new slasher film released back in the old glory days of such films! At the same time this film felt retro/slasher . . . it also had a modern edge to it that I liked! It actually made me smile in a sinister way, because I know these guys have the right influence of classic slasher and torture porn .... This movie will probably end up being one of this generations late-night slasher films that you watched and scared your girl-friend with, or, you watched from behind the couch when your parent's told you to go to bed!

Fun entertainment I enjoyed Killer Holiday

[shelise777 · 8/10 · 18 July 2018]

I enjoyed Killer Holiday and feel that it has quality production value, great cast and the sets and locations were very creative. I can't wait to watch it again! The script was very well written in my opinion. Good job cast and crew!

I enjoyed this movie.

[pagenzero · 7/10 · 9 November 2013]

As a whole, I thought this movie was good, but I am also a sucker for movies like this so that does not help, I am also a huge fan of B movies and think they are glorious so far, out of the majority of horror titles this one has to be my favorite.

The actors in this movie did a great job with what they were given, Taylor was my favorite person in the entire movie, and I personally thought the killer was interesting although this seems like on of those movies where more back story is actually needed to explain how the killer really became the way he is.

While I do feel like Micheal Copon did a good job portraying spider, I feel that he was not scary enough to get the point across, a person who is able to act creepier and possibly more scary would be a better choice.

In the end I have to say, this movie is worth watching, even if you have your doubts give it a chance, maybe you will be surprised.

Killer Holiday

[canyayasis · 9/10 · 11 November 2013]

I started watching this on the big TV and it wasn't long before I turned on one light, then another, then another.... It was suspenseful, well directed and the cast illuminated their scenes. Rachel Lara should be the next Natalie Wood. Her eyes are soulful.

They filmed in some great locations that definitely make it feel like time for a road trip! Route 66 always seems to impress!

I'm grateful for word of mouth so that those of us who like to be "spooked" "BOO!" can have some fun and entertainment we might not otherwise know about.

Don't know why I like having my wits scared out of me, but this one did it for me!

Heads Will Roll!

[michael-492-512488 · 7/10 · 27 November 2013]

Killer Holiday was a fun ride. I liked the cast and the setting. It had a unique style in which it was shot and a twist ending I didn't see coming. Several kill gags successfully got me squirming on my couch and I liked the story. Got a bit too dark sometimes for me but overall it added to the creep. Some gnarly make-up effects too. The TV into water bit was terrific. The music held it's own too. And every good horror film needs a good head roll too! Ha! The girl who played Taylor was great and I could see her going into a great career as an actor. Fun minor characters added to the midas touch to it I felt. Nicely done! Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the carnival.

My Review Of "Killer Holiday"

[ASouthernHorrorFan · 7/10 · 23 May 2014]

"Killer Holiday" takes classic horror into true crime territory. Not that this film is based on any real life events but the premise does sort of reoccur on those true crime channels quite a bit. The film is directed by Marty Thomas and stars a hot cast. Michael Copon, Marty Thomas, Alex Mandel, Rachel Lara, Randolph Mantooth, Julia Beth Stern, David Namminga, Rachel Wixom,Matt Calloway, Rich Hoag, Noah Gibbings, Sydney Rae Shalhoob, Gabriel Olivera, Jon Zuber, Terry T. Miller all star in this visceral nightmare. The plot has a group of friends heading out for a vacation with a psycho killer following close behind.

The story is as straight forward as they come with friends on a trip falling victim to the brutality of a serial killer. There is a twist at the end but you kind of see it coming two scenes prior so the impact isn't as strong. Still the story is classic and fun. It does have the burden of stereotypical set-ups and banter dragging it down somewhat but the fact that it isn't a supernatural force of evil slaughtering the youths makes the film a bit darker. This aspect actual helps the story feel more intense with zero "intentional" cheesiness. The characters are a bit cliché but most horror films have that flaw that can create a small amount of cheese.

"Killer Holiday" does bring some pretty cool actors together that look camera ready. The acting isn't stellar but the cast all give pretty decent performances with a few standing out more, notably the psycho. This one made me a bit conflicted. It is very seldom I enjoy finding a killer so hot that I define them as "f*ckable", I prefer to not really relate to killers in cinema, I never was one for celebrating psycho characters that are too close to "reality". Of course I never thought the classic masked killers were f*ckable so it isn't often I face this dilemma. Even with the acting being above grade there is a weird disconnect with the actors' portrayal of these characters, almost as if they feel two dimensional or lake in depth. Actually the whole film of the drama and dialog feels somewhat disconnected from the story tries to create on screen.

The special effects and soundtrack in "Killer Holiday" is the expected caveat of melodrama and death rattles set to some creepy, chilling instrumentals and sound effects. All of which work great in the movie. Even though it is more of a serial killer situation as opposed to the supernatural, unstoppable monster, the death scenes are just as memorable, bloody and creative. The only thing that holds this back from being stellar is that odd, almost Eurocentric disconnect between what is written and what is acted out. By that I mean it has that strange feel of pretending to be an American slasher instead of actually feeling like an American slasher. If that makes since. Still with the things that bothered me about "Killer Holiday" , the film is a pretty good horror film with plenty of blood and gore for the traditional horror fan. Plus it has a pretty stand-out killer, and nice, all be it expected, ending. A definite once over for any horror fan.