Horror Movie Review: Flicker (2009)

Flicker has guts. Written and directed by Aaron Hendren and starring Katy Houska, Babak Tafti and Kate Schroeder. It’s a quirky, sometimes amusing and well-acted low-budget horror flick.

However, it’s not without its flaws as it can often feel pretty disjointed.

The star of the movie is Pretty (Houska) who has gone camping with some friends. When she wakes up in the morning, she discovers the other tents have been torn up, there is blood around and some of her friends are missing.

She and the remaining friend go out looking for them and run afoul of a local psychopath. One of many it seems as we jump from scene to scene being introduced to several different nut-jobs. It is a bit jarring at first as it doesn’t really gel well. This is where the title comes from as the ‘flicker’ moments have us jumping from one moment to another. However, once it begins to settle and we get to know Pretty better it really starts to be entertaining.

It’s an unusual looking film so credit can be given for the imagination involved. As well as that, credit can also be given for the talents of Katy Houska who impresses in her role. Her character is initially quite annoying but she improves bit by bit as more and more things come at her constantly. Her transformation both mentally and physically is interesting.

It’s a shame she is the only character that makes any kind of impression though. The rest are utterly forgettable, in particular the villains who are cookie-cutter blandness with sketchy motivations. The attempt at a twist near the finale will raise an eyebrow or two as it’s half-heartedly done and really wasn’t needed.

It’s not too bad a movie but it is one that will certainly divide watchers. Many will hate the random nature of its plot while many will enjoy the wackiness of it all.