REVIEW | Lisa Fremont
- Director: Kyra Elise Gardner
- Writer: Catherine Clark, Kyra Elise Gardner, Zoey Luna
- Stars: Zoey Luna, Aya Cash, Malina Pauli Weissman
As Gen Z and their internet-based sensibilities begin to saturate the movie-making landscape, it can be easy to turn into the old guy who yells, “Get off of my lawn,” but sometimes a movie manages to perfectly encapsulate the current generation while also being accessible to the previous ones. Slasher films may have come of age in the 80s, and been resuscitated in the 90s, but this very particular brand of violence for violence’s sake has proven difficult for this more touchy/feely generation. Until now. Slay bills itself as Clueless meets Scream, and it’s exactly the kind of fun, cheeky, culturally relevant film one would expect from that kind of tagline.
Writer/director Kyra Elize Gardner (Living With Chucky) makes a candy colored splash with her first narrative feature-length film. Using various social media screenshots and videos, we watch Chloe (Zoey Luna) grow up online, share her story as a transgender girl who becomes an advocate and homegrown talk show host, and now follows her dream of becoming an actor. With her super-supportive mom, Christine (Aya Cash of The Boyz), cheering her on at every milestone, she is now gifting Chloe and her friends a weekend away at a cabin to celebrate all things Chloe.
Unfortunately, there has been a death, and instead of letting that put a damper on their weekend plans, the group is going to now say that this weekend is for getting away and taking the time they need to recenter after the death and how it has affected them. Very Gen Z.
With the usual group of friends (ie, bestie, boyfriend, nerd, stoner, and siblings), our group is perfectly set up for a weekend of being picked off one by one at a remote home by a masked killer who seems to have no particular motive other than to ruin their good time. As it becomes more and more obvious that some of Chloe’s freinds may not have her best intentions at heart, Slay does begin to evoke memories of 80’s slahser April Fool’s Day and when I tell you that you are not ready for the mask that the killer wears, I will tell you that if you’re a fan of the camptastic Nicole Kidman AMC ad, you’re gonna love this.
From the myriad nods to the horror films that came before it, Slay expertly treads the line between respect and outright copying, all the way down to Scream Queen Shawnee Smith in a Gale Weathers-type role and characters dressed in the kind of Halloween costumes that tell you what kind of Letterboxd user they are. While some of the humor doesn’t land as solidly as they may have hoped, all of the actors expertly inhabit their intended trope, and seeing a transgender actress in a transgender role is an added bonus. Although the killer’s monologue at the end drags the fun down a teeny bit, it is very timely, which is on brand for the film, and, honestly, watching the killer dance around to 80’s classic Self Control is a delight.
To quote Nicole Kidman’s iconic AMC ad, “Our heroes feel like the best part of us, and stories feel perfect and powerful because, here, they are.” Slay may not be perfect, but it is a perfectly fun and campy time.
Played at The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
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