Notes
My quick rating - 4.3/10. Mr. Buzzkill wastes no time establishing its slasher credentials, opening with a radio host taking calls about a string of recent murders and whether the legendary Mr. Buzzkill might be responsible. It’s a simple but effective hook, particularly in its rollout over the credits, propelling the movie into the realm of urban legend before descending into blood-soaked campfire stories. We then move on to a group of adults drinking around a campfire, swapping stories about the Silver Grove massacre and the summer camp killings. What starts as spooky nostalgia quickly turns into a layered (and occasionally messy) narrative experiment.
The film jumps back to 1998 to introduce Joshua, the “poor kid” origin story at the heart of the legend. Locked up for ten whole minutes, a detail the movie shouldn't have made so obvious, Joshua’s childhood trauma becomes the supposed catalyst for his transformation into a serial killer. From there, the group recounts various murders around town that may or may not be attributed to Mr. Buzzkill, complete with reenactments that aggressively point the finger in that direction.
It's an aggressive plan on paper from director Rob Collins, but in execution, it's simply muddy. There are three time tracks that the movie rapidly cuts back and forth between, and these range from Joshua's childhood to the initial attack in the woods to the current attack on the main party at the campground. Unfortunately, the constant snicker-inducing interruptions and asides make it rather difficult to say what's happening in what time frame.
The acting is…exactly what you’d expect. Most of it isn’t great, with performances ranging from wooden to wildly over-the-top, but that’s par for the course in low-budget slashers. Thankfully, the film knows where its real strengths lie: the kills. The practical effects are impressively bloody for the budget, and the stalking sequences are easily the highlight. Mr. Buzzkill, lurking around the campgrounds, picking off victims in a series of brutal, gruesome scenes, delivers the kind of mean-spirited fun slasher fans are looking for.
Things shift again when we’re whisked off to 2018 for the summer camp massacre, which brings with it a handful of genuinely funny lines - mostly from the “slutty girl” character (their words, not mine) - along with some weed-fueled humor that quickly overstays its welcome. The long-winded text dumps and plot summaries, especially regarding the now-infamous 2024 massacre, feel unnecessary and bog down the pacing.
The finale is easily the weakest part. Instead of being a satisfying conclusion, however, the film simply... ends. The budgetary constraints are evident, and the fact that it never gets a proper finish is a real shame, although it does add a layer of interesting, yet slightly unresolved intrigue. The post-credits "outtakes," however, are a nice touch, and while Mr. Buzzkill is hardly a great film, it gets the job done with its kills and its slashy fun. Not great, but certainly not terrible either if you are willing to forgive a lot for a good body count.
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