A forgettable cat and mouse horror that fails to break any new ground
Reviews are usually pretty easy to write. If a film or show is excellent, the writer focuses on the positives. If it’s trash, the writer can call out the shortcomings and move on, saving potential viewers time wasted on that project. It’s the ones that are neither great nor awful that are the hardest to cover. Hence, Kristy.
Kristy is a cat and mouse horror movie that manages to hit a lot of tropes but not really introduce anything new. There’s plenty wrong with the film and a couple of things that it gets right. But, for the most part, it’s just a group of bad people targeting a damsel in distress to scare and kill her.
What Kristy Does Wrong
First of all, Kristy is a thing, not a person. It’s a title drummed up by this group of killers who record them chasing an isolating a girl and then killing her. They then upload it to the obligatory “dark web” to share with other cultists. So, the protagonist in Kristy is named, of course, Justine.
The killers aren’t named at all. They’re identified but which color hoodie they wear. The lead antagonist is actually named Violet, but her name isn’t actually used until the end of the film. To complete the serial killer fall line of fashion, the three male killers all wear aluminum foil to cover their faces. It’s a goofy aesthetic that takes away from the film. Guys who have been doing this for a while should have a better look.
There seem to be no rules to who can or can’t kill Justine/Kristy and when. The killers stalk her and threaten her, and then often just stop trying to catch her at odd intervals. Add in the film’s second act that kills a dog and a guy with a shotgun just to up the body count, and an hour has gone by before the heroine does anything heroic.
What Kristy Gets Right
If the goal is a horror movie marathon with plenty of jump scares, this can be part of the mix. It just doesn’t provide a ton of scares on its own. There are a couple of great camera shots via drone that showcase the gorgeous campus. (The movie was filmed at Tulane University.)
The soundtrack by Francois Eudus supports the tension well. Haley Bennett does all she can with the script but she doesn’t get to be a standout heroine. She just gets to run, swim and ride a skateboard until the last 20 minutes. There is a pool scene late that is easily the highlight of the movie.
Conclusion
Jump scares are fun but they can’t replace a plot. Kristy is just a series of chases that lead from one scare to the next. The killers always seem to be able to find the heroine regardless of where she runs. Justine and every other character not in a hoodie make stupid decisions one after another. Kristy is mostly just a lackluster entry in the slasher chase game.
(Update: The killers wear duct tape. It just looks like aluminum foil. There is a post-credits scene if viewers want to see how the Kristy universe can potentially continue.)
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