[yasr_overall_rating]
Three years ago, twenty-two-year-old “girl-next door” Rachel barely survived a brutal massacre that left all of her friends murdered. Time has passed, and Rachel has moved on, but unfortunately, her close friends are spending Spring Break in a secluded house in the woods, and they have cordially invited her to join!
“WTF!” confuses me. For a lot of reasons. First off, I know what the abbreviation WTF stands for, but I have absolutely no idea what this title has to do with the film.
Secondly, I’m not sure how unique “WTF!” is as a movie. Most of the marketing in the film focuses on the fact that the main female character has already survived a massacre. That’s a unique element, sure. But a unique element does not make a unique plot. The website for “WTF!” describes the film as “the first of its kind”. Hardly. The film just uses the premise of the second film in a horror series as an opening entry.
Third, the film opens on a bloodied woman running out of a building. I think this is supposed to be a reference to the massacre that previously occurred. It comes off more like a non-sequitur and serves to disorient the viewer.
Now, this might sound like I’m about to bash “WTF!” but I’m not. The script was written by Christopher Lawrence Centanni, Adam Buchalter, and Peter Herro (who also directed the film). I won’t say that the crew has no credits, but I’ll say that their previous work does not involve full-length horror films. In combination, the three have made a movie that’s remarkably disjointed in places. There are some high moments throughout and other times, the film plays like an amalgamation of borrowed horror concepts.
“WTF!” uses the time-tested set up of having the main character, Rachel (Callie Ott) arrive at a secluded house in the woods. This might be the oldest and most popular premise for a horror film ever used. Needless to say, murders start to slowly occur among the individuals who are residing at the camp. There are some really unique and memorable deaths in this film, though. These deaths are so strange that they become the part of the movie that will make it linger in your head long after the credits. I’m talking about deaths by castration, decapitation and flesh melting. There’s also some humor in this film. Nothing that will have you roaring devilishly, but enough humor that the film becomes memorable. Ultimately, the bad guy behind these kills also turns out to be lackluster but unique enough to be engaging.
So, “WTF!” is not a bad film by any stretch. Most of the marketing for the movie is very inaccurate because the tag lines would have us believe that it is reinventing the horror wheel. It isn’t that legendary a horror film. It’s a remarkably entertaining film, it’s got a tone that will be appreciated by viewers, but it’s simply just not a revolutionary film. Anyone who likes slaughter film will appreciate this recent entry by Midnight Releasing.
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