It isn't often that your run-of-the-mill teen slasher pic actually defies and/or exceeds expectations, but WTF! (2017) lives up to its title by doing just that.
Not that it reinvents the wheel or anything. It's just that debut director and co-writer Peter Herro has managed to toss in all the familiar ingredients and whip up something that doesn't taste like the same old microwaved mess.
Perez Hilton's cameo is, thankfully, brief, as he yells "F***ing spring break, pussies!" at a pool party (perfectly setting the film's early tone) and tries to be Steve-O for five minutes before disappearing. (Yay!)
(Oh, and just to get a couple of things out of the way to begin with -- there's no Wi-Fi and no cell phone service.)
All the stereotypes are here and then some, along with many of the familiar tropes (including the gas-station hick who warns the kids to "stay away from that place") which, by now, are so comforting that we sort of welcome them.
In fact, this movie wants to be predictable so that it can play around with, and sometimes bend, all our expectations. Not to mention the fact that letting go and indulging in all the foolishness this genre has to offer, if done right and with tongue firmly in cheek, can be fun.
This is especially true once it finally dawns on them that party time is over and the gore has hit the fan. It's rare, but in this case the ensemble acting actually improves once the cast are expected to emote their heads off. They're terrific, in fact, as is Herro's direction.
Not only that, but after some pretty brutal kills, there's a nifty twist that I didn't see coming. Or rather, I sorta saw it coming but not quite from that direction. "WTF!", indeed.
The MOD physical release of WTF! (SRP $14.95) is available exclusively from Amazon.com
Available Nationwide on Cable VOD and Digital HD
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