Departing Seniors

This was the first movie that I saw at Nightmares Film Festival 2023 as it kicked off Day One. This was the Ohio premiere for this film. I did read up a bit about it at work and it fit into a criterion for an October movie challenge as well so I knew that this had LGBTQ+ elements in it.

Synopsis: following an act of bullying, witty high school senior Javier (Ignacio Diaz-Silverio) develops psychic abilities which he must use to stop a mysterious serial killer targeting his classmates.

We start seeing Phil (Cole Steeves) bully an underclassman. The senior is convinced that because this younger swimmer messed up, it cost him winning a state championship in his final swim. Someone is stalking Phil after he lets the younger boy up. Whoever this is, they have on a drama mask. The killer slashes the wrists of Phil and pushes him into a pool. It is then thought that Phil committed suicide.

It then shifts to seven days before graduation. Javier is in the computer lab working on the school website. He is joined by his friend Bianca (Ireon Roach). I do want to point out that Javier is gay. He's been having a secret relationship with a jock, Brad (Sasha Kuzentsov). Javier hasn't even told Bianca.

The following Monday, we see that Javier is bullied. Trevor (Cameron Scott Roberts) leads the way here along with his girlfriend, Ginny (Maisie Merlock). Trevor is also best friends with Brad, who doesn't step in despite his relationship with Javier. I also want to bring up that Ginny is competing with Javier to be valedictorian. She thinks he is close due to being a gay and Hispanic. The problem is that she does everything by the book without necessarily putting in real thought or effort.

There is an accident that happens at school. William (Ryan Foreman) shows interest in Javier. Ginny wants to get back at the latter for mocking her in class. Trevor helps her to set up a 'meet up' between the two males in the library. This ends with Javier revealing that Brad is in the closet. They chase Javier and he falls down a set of stairs.

He wakes up in the hospital and is relatively fine, with one major change. Nurse Ramirez (Lorena Diaz) touches him and he has a vision. He has another by touching a painting in his room. This has him rattled. Bianca talks to him about it, but she isn't nearly as concerned as her friend is. This power comes in handy when Javier sees Brad trying to kill himself in the locker room. With the nurse and the painting, it was visions of the past. With his secret lover, it is of the future. Javier isn't getting the full story with his vision and there is something much more sinister going on.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is we have an interesting meshing of stories here. At the heart of this, we have a high school slasher film. We don't know who the killer is so Javier is using his newfound psychic abilities to figure out who is behind it. This made me think of The Dead Zone. What is great here is that Bianca is a movie buff. She asks if he's seen the movie or read the book. Javier hasn't, but the reference is for cinephiles or avid Stephen King readers. Since I fell in both camps, I appreciate it.

Then sticking with the murders, I want to delve a bit more into this. What is great here is that all the deaths are made to look like suicides. That is keeping the heat off the killer. The first looks like he slit his wrists. The second is hanging in the locker room. This continues until the climax. I do have a gripe here though. There is no way that they would continue to have classes or after school functions with this much tragedy. I get why the movie does what it does, but it is a bit out of the realm of believability as well. Making the killings look like suicides though, that is a great idea.

Let's then shift to the supernatural elements. I like how it is used here and that Javier isn't given complete visions. He sees things and tries to piece together what is happening. A good aspect is that he asks his father, Javier Sr. (Dale Rivera), if they a history of mental illness. It turns out that the did have a family member who also claimed to be psychic and she was called crazy. It's also good that it doesn't happen with everyone he touches. It can also work through touching items they've touched. I do have to say that the rules feel a bit loose, but not enough to ruin this. I do also think they get away from the psychic stuff for a long stretch as we build to climax. It almost then felt like just a plot device to keep us moving.

I did want to say that I guessed who the killer was. I'm not going to hold it against the movie as it isn't a giveaway. I've seen a good number of these murder mysteries and gialli, so I started to breakdown what we know and what is being given to us. I'll credit this for what they provided with red herrings. My only issue is that we don't have enough of them personally.

One last bit about the story as well is the commentary. We have a gay lead character. He is bullied in part because of that. This also has ripple effects that drives a wedge between Trevor and Brad. It has a realistic look though at teens and how their peers can judge them. It does well in showcasing how difficult it can be for sure.

I think next, I'll take this to filmmaking. I'll start with the cinematography which I thought was good. I like what they do with the visions. We see Javier sharing injuries when he is seeing visions and I thought that was a good touch that he's seeing things through the eyes of who he is touching. The editing works there as well. I'd guess that almost everything here was done with practical effects. As a slasher film, I think we have interesting kills in that they look like suicides. The soundtrack fit the vibe the movie needed as well. I do have a gripe that I tend to have with slasher films is that it is deliberately paced. It is a bit slow as the deaths slow down and we gear up to the climax. I do think it builds enough good things in the first half and we see how these deaths are weighing on our lead. The last sequence at the senior lock in does move along.

What I'll end out here with then is the acting. I thought this was good. Diaz-Silverio and Roach are in great tandem. I love their banter back and forth. They feel like old friends. I also like Diaz-Silverio as our lead. I care about what happens to him, which I need for a slasher film. Gellman is good as this teacher who cares about his students. I like the development of his character. Roberts, Merlock and Kuzentsov are good bullies. I liked Foreman in his role. I'll give credit to Diaz, Rivera and the rest of the cast to round this out for what was needed as well.

In conclusion, this is a solid supernatural slasher. What I'll say is that this is a rare one where we have good ideas behind the killings to hide that they're murders. There are also likeable and unlikeable characters with good performances all around. I do have negatives with the slower pacing, but that is what I expect with slasher films. It also feels like the psychic stuff is there as a plot device. This is still well-made though with the effects, cinematography and the rest of filmmaking. It also has good commentary with our lead being gay and the bullying that stems from it. It is fitting. I'd recommend this to slasher fans as this is a solid modern one for sure. I can see the commentary turning people off though, so be warned.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.