- Director: Teddy Grennan
- Writer: Teddy Grennan
- Stars: Sam Brooks, Tu Morrow
Horror movie fans are consistently taken to task over the why behind their love of the genre and throughout movie history there have been fun nods to how this can actually be an asset, the best example being Randy from the Scream movies. Writer/director Teddy Grennan takes this idea, kicks it up a few notches and applies it in his new film Catch A Killer.
Becoming a cop at the young age of seventeen, Otto (Sam Brooks) is currently suspended after a he said/she said issue with a female detective. He now works as a crime scene cleaner in order to stay within the world of crime and this is where his love of horror films will come in handy. While watching A Nightmare on Elm Street, Otto notices the house number of Nancy’s home in the movie and he is reminded of a murder that he cleaned up in the past. Not only did the crime scene look a lot like what happened to Johnny Depp in NOES, but the murder occurred at the same address as in the film: 1428 Elm Street. Of course, no one wants to listen to a disgraced police officer and they definitely don’t want to listen to a young guy who gets stoned and watches horror movies in his off time. Brooks (Fear Street Part Two:1978) is an extremely likable protagonist and we’re easily endeared to him when we see how excited he is for the impeding birth of his baby. The baby mama in question, Lex (Tu Morrow), is currently studying astronomy and despite her disgust at Otto’s love of horror, she will be the one who helps him connect all of the dots. In fact, the way that the kills come together with horror film facts and an ancient love story is really clever and fun.
Mixing Otto’s personal and professional lives with the POV of the serial killer and then seamlessly blending that with the horror movies Otto watches, all of the elements blend smoothly while leaving a couple of breadcrumbs for those of us who fancy ourselves a detective as well. When the finale of the film arrives, this is when Grennan shows off his penchant for wee gut punches of twists: much like his film Ravage, he manages to wrap the movie up with an, albeit messy, bow only to deliver one more surprise.
While Catch A Killer runs along similarly to a very well made for tv procedural, Brooks’ enthusiasm, the music choices and Grennan’s obvious love of the genre smooth out any of the rough edges and create a satisfying horror thriller that not only celebrates horror fans, but is an accessible story for fans of all genres.
Lisa Fremont