2020 Directed by Cody Calahan
Joel, a caustic 1980s film critic for a national horror magazine, finds himself unwittingly trapped in a self-help group for serial killers. With no other choice, Joel attempts to blend in with his homicidal surroundings or risk becoming the next victim.
Evan Marsh Amber Goldfarb Ari Millen Julian Richings Robert Maillet Sean Baek David Koechner Alex Steele Kristopher Bowman Mark Gibson John Fray Joe Bostick Gord Rand MacKenzie Boyd-Garrison Randy Thomas Joanne Jansen Earl McLean Jr. Kameron Louangxay Natalie Jane Darryl Hinds Josette Jorge Craig Brown Ann Pirvu Tracy Baker Rodger Edralin Angel Adegboruwa Jeremy Hernandez Aisling Egan Tracy Rankin Show All…
Black Fawn Films Particular Crowd Breakthrough Entertainment Citizen Skull Productions Radioactive Pictures
Círculo Vicioso, Círculo vicioso, Vicious fun, 사악한 쾌락: 킬러들의 험담, Порочное удовольствие, 恶趣味, Dzika frajda
Spain
Sitges Film Festival
UK
Grimmfest International Festival of Fantastic Film
South Korea
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
Germany
USANR
Brazil16
Russian Federation18+
France
Brazil
France
Germany
Russian Federation
South Korea
Spain
UK
USA
As much as I love seeing a horror journalist in peril since 90% of the new wave of self proclaimed horror “journalists” in LA are jerkoffs pandering to whatever social justice will keep them relevant and hip for the next 17 minutes, I kinda checked out of Vicious Fun once I realized it was a doofy comedy thing. It’s ok… it'll definitely have an audience but I don’t think that audience is me—it’s a fun time and all but I prefer the more serious and less synth driven/less corny pandering of the other Canadian throwback, Summer of 84 to this—At least that movie felt like a real movie?
I think It’s time to retire neon, synths, setting movies in 1980-something, and move on to anything else.
It’s fine.
Vicious Fun is a successful subversion of the slasher genre, by way of a witty plot and its retro, visceral style. Despite its fair share of cliches and genre tropes, it's for sure a concise yet effectively engrossing ride for the general horror fans.
With its After Hours-ish storyline of a bonkers late night misadventure, Vicious Fun manages to squeeze the utmost entertainment values out of an ingeniously crafted story. Thanks to the memorable character building of its motley crew of villains that were ultimately perfected by its marvellous cast, Vicious Fun is able to leave an lasting impression for its gory, macabre portrait of a blood-soaked underworld where the innocent protagonist, played by an endearing Evan Marsh, has to…
Well, this was a delightful surprise.
Give me films drenched in moody neon color palettes with dreamy synth scores and I’ll forever be content. It is my favorite *aesthetic*.
This gives you that vibe in spades, plus it’s overflowing with heavily stylized charisma, wild splatter effects and a cinematic playfulness that belongs at the top of my ‘weird shit that feels good’ list. Always a favorite genre.
Beginning was boring. I wish they stuck with the serial killer support group for longer. He coulda really stirred us up w some taxi killer stories. Needed more character building for the other killers as well. Oh well, it's still fun.
Reminded me alot of the creepshow holiday special with the shape shifters. Loved the synth score. Ari Millen really steals the show tho with his creepy Chuck Bass the killer impersonation 😂
Give me your Jasons, your Bundys,
Your huddled masses yearning to kill free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the violent, the vicious to me,
I lift my lamp behind the Chinese restaurant.
While it could have been much vicious, this is definitely a hell of a fun movie.
I had no idea this film even existed until many of the horror fans I follow on Letterboxd started logging their entries. It got a pretty good reception from everyone around, so I decided to give it a go once I saw it was on HBOMAX.
And starting off, even though the use of the 80s for the entire setting of the film just felt unnecessary up to some extent, this film knows how to utilize it in a variety of ways. Though Steph Copeland's electric and vibrant synth driven score didn't fit as well as say a movie such as "Come True", it…
Kinda fun, but a few more drafts of the script would have gone a long way. For being a horror/comedy about a horror magazine writer getting caught up with some serial killers, it's not particularly funny. I kinda feel like horror nerds wrote this, which is great because I'm a horror nerd, but then didn't outsource any of the joke-writing to actual comedians. Also, why have horror nerds writing scripts if you are just gonna reference made-up horror movies? Idk why but that really bothered me. This could have relished in the love of early 80s horror (my favorite time-period for horror) but instead just talks about made-up movies.
I will give it a barely passing score though for a really great cold open, some good kills, a great villain and a good message on the importance of male/female friendship
Watched this on a whim and it’s a winner. You can feel the lower budget but it really doesn’t hold this back and it serves up an entertaining dish. Throws back to 80s horror for the sake of it and I’ll always enjoy a good synth score. The characters are waaay over the top and that’s kinda what I liked about it too. 🔪
”What is this, some kinda support group for serial killers?”
Finally, a horror-comedy that’s more self-aware than Patrick Bateman in a business-card showdown.
This is exactly the kind of mayhem and unbridled fun that I desperately wanted from films like Studio 666 and SLAXX.
This goofy film knows exactly what it is and goes for it with complete abandon that never gets bogged down in overly dramatic details.
Oh, and did I mention it’s more self-aware than Snidely Whiplash at a facial hair protest?
”You don’t insult a man’s mustache!”
That was viciously fun indeed! Extremely entertaining and clever horror comedy about a horror journalist who ends up drunk and accidentally stumbles into a support group meeting for serial killers. This is one of those film that you can tell right away by its cover. It nails both on horror and comedy aspect and delivers exactly everything you'd expect from the title. There are lots of blood, great kills with various murder instruments, great jokes, charming characters, energetic synth soundtrack, and big 80s feel throughout. The lead has great personality and his jokes are always at the perfect timing. I love most of the style choices used in this film. Some conversations feel a bit too long but it's an entertaining ride the whole way through. Can't wait to watch it again!
2021 Horror Ranked
2021 Shudder Exclusives & Originals Ranked
Title Justified.
Without any unnecessary scenes, it's a satisfying damn good black horror comedy of the year. Catchy dialogs, kick-ass actions, cool music, and supercool cast.
A must-see.
Panic Fest 2021
Film #22; Feature #6
Loved. Loved. Loved this film. I really hope this film finds an audience because it deserves to be seen.
A friend and I used to joke about never trusting anything with "fun" in the title, because it usually is not fun. You go through a town where there is some sort of raggedy amusement park called Fun City or Fun Town or Fun Zone. Those places are never actually fun. But this film puts the word fun right there in the title and actually delivers. It is indeed one of the most fun films I've seen in some time.
Set in a neon drenched 1983, the film follows Joel, a "horror journalist" for…
