Denver Film Festival Review: 'Tragedy Girls'

Written by Dave Minkus

Slasher movies tend to have a pretty basic formula where there’s a deranged serial killer on the loose and our protagonist (generally a woman) ends up being the only one of her friends who isn’t slaughtered in a grisly fashion and somehow defeats our villain, only for it to rise again in a sequel. It’s a well that’s been revisited dozens of times over the past few decades because it works and it brings in audiences. Generally speaking, when a film tries to break that formula, it tends to fail in a spectacular blaze of glory. Occasionally, though, a film with a sure hand at the helm and a fantastic cast can shatter the mold and find a new path to blaze. Wonderfully, Tragedy Girls is a film that pulls this off in a manner not seen since Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.
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The film centers on BFFs Sadie (Deadpool’s Brianna Hildebrand) and McKayla (X-Men: Apocalypse’s Alexandra Shipp) who are on a quest to become social media famous by capitalizing on a string of murders in their small mid-western home town. It’s fair to say they’re willing to go to extraordinary lengths when they kidnap the serial killer (The Strain’s Kevin Durand) and take over for him on his killing spree. Will the girls reach their peak of popularity and more importantly, will they be able to juggle killing, social media AND planning the senior prom?

The single biggest challenge the film also brings about one of the biggest laughs in retrospect.  You have two characters who are not only obsessed with becoming famous, but they’re willing to put in the hard work to make it happen…except that hard work is brutally murdering people. You then have to make these girls likeable and compelling. Fortunately, Hildebrand and Shipp along with director Tyler MacIntryre walk that tightrope expertly and pull you along for the ride. It’s a similar line that Heathers found a way to walk and as a result, thematic and tonal comparisons between the films couldn’t be more appropriate.

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Another trick the film pulls off to put you on Sadie and McKayla’s side is making their victims fairly unlikeable as well, no matter how pure and wonderful their façade may be. If a film can find a way to make you almost cheer when a girl whose project for college grants are Little Free Libraries around the town, you know you’re in for a morally confusing, yet fun time. Bringing in pretty big names like Josh Hutcherson and Craig Robinson to essentially be big name bodies on the screen was a fantastic touch with their ends ranging from downright wacky to something pulled out of a Final Destination movie.
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What could be a truly disturbing and dour film keeps those tones at bay with a savagely funny sense of humor. From the town coming together to march through town as a show of solidarity with one of the victims without actually DOING anything of substance to a random collage board in the back of a classroom exploring the pressing question of what if MLK had an Instagram, there are great little digs at society to be found throughout the film.

Simply put, Tragedy Girls is a blast of a movie that is sure to become a cult favorite, regardless of if it gets the large theatrical release it deserves or not. With expertly executed plot twists and turns, hilarious gags and a fantastic supporting cast of victims, this is going to become a Halloween tradition for many horror buffs. Caught in a theater with a late-night audience, this is easily one of the most fun experiences you’ll have all year.

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