Killer Kart

Coming from the generation who grew up with the Evil Dead franchise helping to define the genre, I would like to think I have somewhat high standards when it comes to camp-horror/macabre satire; I have to admit I started watching this short film thinking it wouldn't measure up. I'm glad I gave it a chance. Killer Kart hits all the right notes; it's over-the-top where it needs to be, is well paced, and satirizes well-worn horror tropes just enough to not be preachy while still managing to be ridiculous enough to make me laugh. Extra kudos for the subtle (and some not-so-subtle) homages to other much-loved horror/sci-fi classics.

I love stupid comedy and I love horror, but it's very difficult to mix the two effectively and create a good byproduct. First of all, if you're making a horror spoof the viewer shouldn't be confused as to whether the film is comedy or completely serious. It took until the first cheesy line from Cass's boyfriend (when she found him outside) for me to realize it was actually supposed to be funny.

Killer Kart has way too much screaming, not enough comedy, and looks as if the director took the subject matter too seriously, and secretly wanted to make it 100% horror. The dialogue was atrocious, and the clichés ever- present. The casting was very stereotypical of horror movies as well: tiny helpless screaming girls, a douchey guy that only thinks about sex, and a huge burly man that everyone thinks is a dick.

The camera angles and production quality were rather high though, which makes the film look good, whether or not it actually is. But the boring dialogue, character, and premise of the entire situation is dull and leaves creativity in the dark.

If you like nonstop grating metal noises, loud screeching women screaming the whole movie and guys yelling over and over and over until your ear drums bleed, then this is the movie for you.

I had to turn my phone volume to 2 out of 10 because I thought the incessant cacophony would shatter my screen.

Pass.

A lot of cliches, nice used, dark humor and critic against consumerism. And a story reminding the old fashion horrors. Nothing original but just nice.

Cass is the young manager of a grocery store who is shutting up for the night. A power cut brings her onto the shop floor to investigate, where she finds young employee Bailey frozen with fear and screaming uncontrollably. Running for help she learns that a killer is on the loose and is picking off the employees one at a time.

I did not mention it in my little plot summary there, but the title of this will tell you that the killer of the piece is none other a standard supermarket trolley. The next thing the titles and opening of the film will hint to you is that this short is made in the comedy/horror style of the 1980's – particularly the low budget effort of Evil Dead 2 comes to mind, with its focus on the excessive and gory fun. As such the film walks a very careful line, because it needs to be cheesy and terrible-looking, but at the same time has to avoid actually being those things. This it does pretty well as it mostly gets the feel of the genre, with its bad dialogue, gory effects, and sense of fun, but yet the cast and film also deliver it straight, with the screaming loud and without a sense of irony at all. This continues to the ending, which I also liked a lot.

It is not perfect though, it perhaps could have built more tension by having more than a couple of scenes of stalking; I also was not totally sold on Cass – I thought she was good at the start, but Rodriguez wasn't able to totally transform into Ash in the way that the ending really needed her to do. The other cast do well in support – Bouchard bringing that 80's exposition, while Schaefer more than ticks the two key boxes of the genre by looking cute and being a great screamer. The production standards are high, with the effects managing to be absurd but yet also effective; okay it isn't really "frightening" but then this was not the point, since really the type of films it spoofs were not really frightening in that way either.

It is silly and what it does will make it feel disposable and easy, but this should not detract from the way that the film knows what it wants and delivers on it really well, with a gory, silly spoof that manages to get the genre right, but also rise above it at the same time.