Popular Posts

Saturday, March 10, 2018

Jeff Reviews 'Tragedy Girls' (2017)


"A twist on the slasher genre, following two death-obsessed teenage girls who use their online show about real-life tragedies to send their small mid-western town into a frenzy and cement their legacy as modern horror legends."


The comedy/horror Tragedy Girls is directed by Tyler MacIntyre and written by Chris Lee Hill and Tyler MacIntyre (Patchwork). The film stars Alexandra Shipp (X-Men: Apocalypse), Brianna Hildebrand (Deadpool), Kevin Durand (The Strain), and Jack Quaid (The Hunger Games). The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 12 and released to theaters on October 20, 2017, by Gunpowder & Sky.


The Tagline for Tragedy Girls is "Friends Who Slay Together, Stay Together." I use to say the same thing about families. But I guess the closer the friend the more like family they are. To prove this theory, Tyler MacIntyre brings us the story of high school seniors McKayla Hooper (Alexandra Shipp) and Sadie Cunningham (Brianna Hildebrand). Notice The last names of both girls are the last names of famous horror directors. McKayla and Sadie also run a true crime blog, where they post theories and attempt to track serial killers. It's a healthy obsession no doubt. As the plot thickens the girls execute a plan by which they hope to catch the local serial killer in action and it works. But now that he's safely tucked away in the basement there are no murders to report on the blog, and that will not do for these social media obsessed teens. So they commit murders themselves, in the name of the aforementioned murderer, and to maintain anonymity, in order to drive interest in their Tragedy Girls true crime blog. The rest, as they say, is all the fun and games you can handle.


Alexandra Shipp and Brianna Hildebrand both played X-men in the FOX Marvel Universe. Alexandra played Storm in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), for her the character of McKayla is quite the departure. But she does a great portraying an image-obsessed teen. Brianna played Negasonic Teenage Warhead in Deadpool (2016). I have to admit her Tragedy Girls role isn't much different as she maintains her sardonic sarcasm. Fortunately for her, this emotionless approach to the character adds just the right touch to make her feel more like a serial killer in training. Speaking of a serial killer in training, this is where the wonderful pitch-black humor takes over the film. They both have a touch of competing for the madness that makes them endearing. They decide to pick up where their captive left off but have a rough start with accidents. They also have issues with familiar teen tropes that continually mock their friendship including boys, victims, and school dances.


Soon to be your new favorite story behind the serial killer, Tragedy Girls is available in some theaters and should be available on VOD platforms soon if not now.


No comments:

Post a Comment