Millennial Killer (2020)

When you open your email and see a film waiting for you to review, titled Millennial Killer, you get this sense of “oh yeah, another person just picking on my generation!” Well, that’s not the case with this film. Edited, directed and written by Sam Mason Bell (who also makes a cameo appearance in the film as Toby. Keep an eye out for him), this film doesn’t waste any time letting you know who the killer is and how brutal their methods are.

A Real Estate Agent, in a slightly ill-fitting suit, has set up a flat (apartment for those in the U.S.) as a trap for unsuspecting Millennials. Once there, he gives them a tour and when they reach the Master Bedroom, they never walk back out. The story is set up almost like an anthology-type film, except instead of it telling different, slightly thematic stories, it is the different victims that provide the episodic nature of the experience. I enjoyed that aspect very much. It’s a good viewing experience, but at the same time makes me second-guess ever going to an appointment with a real estate agent without at least five friends as protection. Just in case.

Simon Berry plays the titular killer and let me tell you, his was a very fun role to witness in action. It was almost mesmerizing, watching him slip between the kind-sounding nature of the Real Estate Agent, then seeing his entire demeanor change to become a brutal killer. It was one of my favorite roles to watch since I began writing reviews.

This film did great with a lot of aspects. The lighting, by the team of Jackson Batchelor, Martin W. Payne and Sam Mason Bell, helped create a feeling of hopelessness for the victims, and kept the overall mood of the film where it needed to be. The camera work by Jackson Batchelor and Sam Mason Bell, in some cases, made me feel like I was losing my own grip on sanity. It really helped you into the headspace of certain characters.

The makeup, blood and gore, by the SFX team of Claire Haxell-White and Katie Johnson, was very good as well. Let’s just say, they helped reinforce my wariness of hammers. They really knew how to make someone pretty, and then… not as much. The score, composed by Alex O’Neil, was great and also lent a hand in keeping the atmosphere of the film right where it needed to be.

Simon Berry, Alice Mulholland and the supporting cast, all did great. A few of the standouts for me were: Rishky Patel, Annina Kaski and Annabella Rich. They were some of the best in the film. Granted, there were a lot of roles that didn’t have much in the way of real dialogue.

Speaking of dialogue, if there was one thing I found to be slighlty below par, it would be in the non-conversational parts of dialogue. When couples or friends engaged in conversation, it flowed naturally, yet when it was one-on-one with our Killer, or when there is a level of tension introduced, the dialogue became somewhat forced. Other than that, this is a solid film to spend 70 enjoyable minutes on.

Great villain and a tense viewing experience. 7/10.