Movie Review: ‘WTF!’…Yeah, That’s Kinda How I Felt.

July 29, 2017

Written by Capt McNeely

Georgia Division ZADF Twitter: @ZADF_ORG


Rachel is a young woman who has lived through an ordeal that would leave most people completely shattered. During a gathering with a group of friends, a brutal bloody massacre occurred, with Rachel emerging as the lone survivor.
A few years have since passed, and some would say that time heals all wounds. It just so happens that Spring Break is almost upon her and her new group of friends. And if there are any of those old demons lurking in her subconscious, perhaps a getaway with said friends would be just what the doctor ordered. Even her brother is in tow, acting as sort of a security blanket.
So the group packs up their party favors and other necessities, and hit the road to the swanky, secluded vacation home of the deceased uncle that belonged to one of Rachel’s friends, for a relaxing week away from the hustle and bustle and crowded beaches of the average spring break. I mean, what are the odds that another bloodbath would ensue…right? Well, Murphy’s Law insists that “anything that can go wrong WILL go wrong”.
Peter Herro directed WTF! from a script he wrote with Adam Buchalter and Christopher Centanni. The characters they’ve created are based solely on preconceived stereotypes that we’ve all seen in slashers before this, and will likely see again. Of course there’s the timid (final) girl next door type, but the rest of the characters end up consisting primarily of vapid, entitled, VERY self centered. disposable twenty-somethings. They’re all about the sex, drugs, booze and standard debauchery (not that there’s anything wrong with these things) that is commonplace in the slasher sub-genre. But even characters in past slashers tended to display a modicum of personality or likeability. The dialogue is often painful to listen to, given the cast’s over exaggerated deliveries. And even though the movie is only 1 hour and 20 minutes (including credits), it would have been nice if the victims had been dispatched faster, just to put an end to it. There is even a twist ending, which unfortunately, can be pretty easily predicted if you pay close enough attention.

There weren’t any really any remarkable performances to be seen here, as most of the featured cast came across like caricatures of entitled college kids. Although, I will say that Callie Ott, in the role of Rachel, did give a solid performance with what she had to work with. She showed a semblance of fragility and trepidation, and delivered them both with appropriate subtlety. And I’m not certain what purpose casting Perez Hilton and Shawn C. “Coolduder” Phillips served, as neither were in the film long enough to be of any real benefit. When it comes right down to it, if you weren’t paying close enough attention you would likely miss them.
Visually, the movie actually looked pretty decent. Justin Kemper did a respectable job in relation to framing, composition and camera movement, in his duties as cinematographer. And Steve Parker did an equally respectable job editing all the pieces together. Also, the creator of the opening title sequence is deserving of a good amount of respect, as it was easily one of the most interesting parts of the movie.
I’m not absolutely certain if the movie was intended to be a straight up horror film or if it was supposed to be seen as a horror comedy. Because, quite frankly, it doesn’t really do the job one way or another. There aren’t enough (if any) requisite scares to make it true horror, and anything that is supposed to be construed as humor is more annoying and sophomoric than comical. So at no point did I LOL.There is some gore and some blood curdling screams, but it needed much more than just that to fit the bill. Suffice to say I wasn’t particularly impressed or entertained by WTF!, so none of you Little Monsters should be surprised or think, “OMG” when I give it 4 / 10.
If any of you wish to check it out for yourselves when it is released in theaters on August 1st, go ahead and take your chances.

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