For most of us, the first day at a new job can be frustrating, maddening, and even scary. Despite those chances, or maybe because of them, Sonny decides to join his father’s business as a plumber, using this also as a chance to beat his phobia to germs, a condition that has controlled his life for quite some time.
What seemed to be a routine call to just unclog a toilet in an apartment building, ends up being a battle for survival against a sadistic creature that was created in a lab for the sole purposes to kill any living being nearby, and it is now roaming the plumbing in the same building that Sonny and his Dad are working.
This is the premise of “Scared Shitless” the new film directed by Vivieno Caldinelli, written by Brandon Cohen, and that just played at ScreamFest 2024, one of my favorites film festivals, and that is taking place from October 8th through October 17th, in Los Angeles California.
Ok, I will start by stating that I personally dislike scatological humor in movies, and therefore I tend to avoid films like the ones from Troma Entertainment for the same reason (I will mention that I really like “Mother’s Day”, although that film has no toilet humor at all). When I heard some very good things regarding “Scared Shitless” from previous festivals, it made me decide to step out of my comfort zone and give it a chance.
And I am glad I did!
I really liked this movie a lot, and contrary to what you might expect, the jokes dealing with human waste were almost non-existent.
What we get is a really solid (no pun intended) horror-comedy with very good acting, clever lines, very charismatic characters and a very cool, scary creature done with very cool special effects, courtesy of Steven Kostanski (Director of “The Void”, “Psycho Goreman” and “Manborg”).
The movie barely lasts 78 minutes, but is very entertaining from start to finish. The gore and guts are great, the pacing is very good, and most of the jokes landed very well with me and did not overstay their welcome.
Although I liked everyone in the cast, my favorite performance was the one given by Steven Ogg. He was very funny and his chemistry with Daniel Doheny as father and son was great. Check also his performance in “Dark Match”, another film I watched in another festival, he also is great in there.
The script has some clever nods to the audience regarding horror movie tropes and cliches like “Why don’t they just call the police?”, “Why do they go to the basement?” and so on. It also manages to bring several likable characters that made me chuckle more than once, and when they are in danger you actually care for them, this is not very common in horror comedies, so kudos to the writer Brandon Cohen for that.
There is some gore, and while there is no nudity per se, you will see genitals here and there being thrown at you. Nothing major that will make you run to the church and urge you to talk to your priest, but might be a little awkward if you watch this in the living room with sensitive people.
The only thing that I could mention as a negative, is that while the film is engaging and at no time drops the ball, the obligatory final confrontation is something of a lackluster. I guess this could be due to a limited budget, as we do not get a massive, spectacular showdown. We do get a good ending, mind you, it’s just that it’s so very low key, that it seemed more fitting for something that you would see in the middle of the film. Imagine the typical scene where you finally discover a weakness in your enemy, and then you gear up for THE BIG FIGHT, this is the feeling I got in the final confrontation.
But still, it’s not a bad ending, and I was satisfied overall with this film, therefore I recommend you to seek it out.
The film was directed by Vivieno Caldinelli, written by Brandon Cohen.
The cast includes the talents of Steven Ogg, Daniel Doheny, Chelsea Clark, Mark McKinney and Julian Richings
ScreamFest is taking place from October 8th through October 17th, in Los Angeles California.
