There’s a great movie desperate to be set free with Stephen Sawchuk’s “Hell is a Teenage Girl” and sadly it’s only a pretty good movie when all is said and done. There’s so much lore and back story hinted at that the movie, at fourteen minutes, barely scratches the surface of. And we’re told that protagonist Parker is blamed for her dad being the Springsboro Slasher. But why? There are a lot of “But Why?’s” that will be spouted during the short. Although it is a neat, creative (if not wholly original) short, there’s just so much more tinkering and glossing up that needs to happen before/if a feature is ever greenlit.
Every Halloween, the small town of Springboro is terrorized by its resident SLASHER – a masked serial killer who targets sinful teenagers that break ‘The Rules of Horror’ – don’t drink, don’t do drugs, and don’t have sex! At the center of it all is Parker Campbell, the Slasher’s estranged biological daughter. In an attempt to clear her name and make things right with the town, Parker sets out on a life-or-death mission in hopes of ending his reign of terror once and for all.
The direction by Stephen Sawchuk is very good often feeling like a throwback to what’s become the more pulpy slasher films like “Freaky” and “Happy Death Day.” Sawchuk sets up all the pieces and positions the story well with the setting of Halloween, potential cannon fodder for the slasher, and even giving the main character her own support system. But in the fourteen minute run time there’s not a lot of exploration as to the whys. Why did Parker’s dad become a slasher? Why didn’t he target her? Why does he adhere to the rules of the horror movie? Why does he only rise during Halloween?
Is he a supernatural being or a mortal being? Why was Parker chastised for her father’s actions? Has anyone else ever tried to catch the Springsboro Slasher? Does everyone else in town know about the rules? Do they apply only on Halloween or every day of the year? Why did Parker engage in rule breaking to catch her father only to remain so woefully unprepared? There’s just so much more that needed discussing that I was admittedly distracted and it hindered a lot of the novelty and characterization that the short thrived on. I think with a much longer format, and more tongue in cheek humor, “Hell is a Teenage Girl” could be fantastic.
This year the Fantasia International Film Festival runs in Montreal from July 18th to August 4th.