Bullying never yields positive results, for the bullied nor the bully. The former holds that trauma and anguish for the rest of their lives, and the latter either trudges forward with that toxic mentality or ends up harboring tremendous guilt themselves. Horror films have taught us this morality lesson for many years, from “Carrie” to “Prom Night,” from “Terror Train” to “Slaughter High,” all the way to the recent first chapter of “It.” Each and every one of these films manages to interweave that anti-bullying message into something entertaining and/or poignant, with most of them having a hint of irony that injects the point-of-view in a way that’s lasting and effective.
It’s clear that these films are a huge influence on writer/director Dallas Jackson’s debut film “Thriller,” which features a central conceit that feels right at home with the aforementioned selections. In Jackson’s film, a group of young South Central friends lures outcast Chauncey Page (Zachariah Walker) into an abandoned house to play a prank on him. When the prank goes horribly wrong and Chauncey is blamed for the death of Amani Morris (Bria Singleton), he is sent to a juvenile detention center. Four years later, Chauncey (Jason Woods) is released from juvie around the time of homecoming weekend, and coincidentally, those involved with the incident are being killed one-by-one…
On the surface, “Thriller” is refreshing. The majority of horror films of this ilk have traditionally – and for far too long – been populated by white suburbanites. So, it’s nice seeing representation, by a largely Black and brown cast, that feels authentic. The interplay between the cast of young up-and-comers is genuine, though it sadly isn’t enough to overcome the rote material that they have been saddled with. And that’s where “Thriller’s” moments of freshness cannot overcome the staleness at its core. The film lacks a single central character to saddle the burden of the group’s guilt, and at just over 80 minutes, there isn’t enough time to develop this ensemble outside of their archetypes, even with the inspired angle.
That becomes more unfortunate as the film progresses, as Jackson has clearly studied what makes a great horror film and knows that putting the human drama first heightens the tension. With that element not quite clicking into place, the difficulty in caring about the human casualties increases. Usually, when a slasher film doesn’t work at the human level, it can be saved on a visceral level by creative, interesting deaths. Unfortunately, the murders in “Thriller” are largely unremarkable. Even if they were creative, the deaths are betrayed by overly dark shots and frenetic editing.
“Thriller” does a lot with its signature Blumhouse low-budget, but the seams show a bit too often and actively disengage the viewer in the verisimilitude of the film. There never seems that more than a dozen students are walking the halls or having lunch in this high school at any given time. And when another character is obsessively waiting outside of a music studio, amongst a bevy of fans holding signs, for the chance to meet a famous rapper, it’s clear that the production only had access to a handful of extras, despite the attempts to mask the tiny crowd via close-ups. Jackson knows all the right tricks to get the most out of the limited resources, but overall, the lack of funds is evident and distracting.
Seemingly, the film’s ace-in-the-hole is RZA, who executively-produced, scored, and stars in a brief role. But don’t get too excited. The score – while perfectly solid – is not unlike Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ score for “mid90s” where it has a small number of tracks and feels like something cobbled together over a weekend. His role as the tough-as-nails school principal is fun, but also a little distracting given that the scenes feel like they wouldn’t play out as long as they do – or be in the film at all – if he wasn’t the person playing the part.
It’s clear that the RZA saw a lot in “Thriller” that made him want to be a part of it, and it’s easy to see why. It has the go-for-broke, scrappy-indie-horror-film-that-could gusto with a unique perspective largely unseen in films of this horror sub-genre, and it’s heartening that Jackson went out and created his film. Unfortunately, the peripheral factors worth championing are not enough to save the film from being a routine slasher, with an unremarkable mystery at the center, that puts its prescient anti-bullying message first and genre second, making “Thriller” feel a bit like a chore. It’s evident that Jackson is hungry and eager to play with genre conventions, but the tropes have to be executed well before they can be subverted. [C-]