Horror Movie Review: It Kills (2017)

The Camp Blood series first came to life in 1999 with a straight to DVD release. A slasher horror that saw teens slaughtered at the hands of a menacing clown. Since then it’s seen four sequels & one unofficial entry. Why is this important? Well It Kills also happens to be the seventh film in the series!

It Kills seems to have tried to cash in on the popularity of the re-imagining of Stephen King’s It. I mean you only have to look at the cover to get that. However, those going in expecting a spooky, effective & tension filled horror will be in for a shock. It Kills is low budget slasher trash with some diabolical acting, awful effects & hilariously rubbish dialogue.

Opening with a bickering couple on a boat, the lengthy intro introduces the killer. A person in a cheap clown mask that could be bought from most stores on Halloween. He watches them from the shore, we get a very early (and only) boob shot before both are killed. It’s an intro that instantly raises some questions about the clown. I mean can he swim without making a sound?

The main plot then sees a group of young adults on a road-trip where they meet all manner of people. Such as the ‘hick’ couple who accuse the group of plotting to steal their firewood (which at least one of them was). Or the hiker who is trying to find his missing wife & connects with the females of the group instantly.

The group end up at Camp Blood but before they can leave their car is stolen. Trapped at the abandoned camp, they try to make the best of it. At least up until the point where the clown begins his rampage.

A silent killer, he stalks around delivering forgettable deaths that mostly result in stabbings. Nothing special & each is always in an extreme closeup way that ensures that it looks as bad as it can possibly be.

The effects are bad & a low budget is no excuse. One particular ‘gory’ moment sees a character holding her supposed intestines before she gets strangled with them. However, they look absolutely awful. It would be funny except it’s just not. It’s just bad.

The killer is awful. The victims a mix of shockingly bad to vomit-inducing bad. No-one can act, these are performers who were literally pulled off the street it would seem. You’ll cringe so many times when they speak you’ll likely pull a muscle.

A film like this, you can’t expect quality. It’s as simple as that. However, its lack of entertainment just highlights so many of the other issues with it. Had it been fun & a little amusing/sending up the genre then the rest of the dross could have been forgiven (somewhat). Unfortunately it does none of these things & when it seems to try it falls flat.

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