A father and son duo are called to an emergency plumbing problem. Only there are a few issues, one being the son’s germaphobia and the other being that it’s not exactly what they’d expect blocking the drains.
Written by Brandon Cohen and directed by Vivieno Caldinelli, Scared Shitless is a horror comedy that is hilarious in all the inappropriate ways. The humor here is most juvenile, yet it works and it fantastically entertaining. If you’ve guessed poop and bodily fluids jokes, you are right on the money, so if that isn’t for you, skip it. If this type of humor works for you at times, pull up a stool and join in the poop monster fun. Because, yes ladies and gentlemen, this is a poop monster movie (well of sorts, it’s a monster, it lives in the toilet, so it’s a poop monster), something of a spoiler, except not as the word shit is in the title and some of the images released show the monster at least a bit. And yes, it does look like the (not so distant) cousin of the poop monsters in Dreamcatcher and maturity goes out the window when these types of monsters show up. And that is just find. Besides the monster, this film is well-written and directed, really funny, and entertaining.
The cast here is almost perfect. They all act their butts off and make the most of each of their parts. The two leads are great with Steven Ogg playing the father and Daniel Doheny as his son. Joining them are Chelsea Clark and Marcia Bennett as the building manager and one of the residents, both of whom are funny and charming, really adding the film’s dynamic beyond the father and son duo. The rest of the cast is fun as well with some annoying characters who are meant to be this way, so good acting keeping them this way. In a way too short one-scene part, horror fans will recognize Julian Richings who is just amazing as usual, giving the film that extra special touch he has.
The special effects here are lovely in a gross, ooey, and gooey, is that poop, sort of way. The work by creature effects designer Steven Kostanski is great and in line with his previous work (see the recent Frankie Freak, PG Goreman, etc). The design of the beast and what accompanies it/comes after is great and makes for something that both gross and effective while also being a bit funny. And as mentioned before, it does feel like Dreamcatcher had a bit of an influence on this design. The practical effects that go with this beast and aftermath is also very well done by the effect team and it’s so nice to see a new film rely on practical effects and not take the CGI way out of things.
The film’s look, music, cinematography, decor, and just about everything else have clearly been planned carefully as they all work and go great together. This is how you take a potentially puerile concept and make it something more. Scared Shitless is silly, entertaining, funny, gross, and ridiculous. It’s never boring and definitely a great end of the night or end of the week addition to any practical effects and/or horror comedy fan’s viewings.