Prime Time: Killer Concept (2021)

Directed by Glenn Payne, who also has a main starring role, and written by Casey Dillard, who also has a main starring role, Killer Concept is a film that definitely had the potential to be a fun, meta, slasher movie blurring the lines between onscreen reality and onscreen fiction. Unfortunately, it decides to continually lessen the fun factor en route to an ending that feels like nothing more than a poor Saw rip-off (even down to the music cue).

Seth (Coley Bryant), Holly (Dillard), and Mark (Payne) are trying to work together on a screenplay that will tell the story of a number of murders in their local area. The murderer is still at large, which means the screenplay will have an added frisson to it. But while arguing over the various details, one of the writers seems to have much greater insight than the others. Are they more in tune with the material, or are they actually the killer?

Although I am being coy with the plot summary here, Killer Concept reveals its tricks quite early. This is detrimental to the viewing experience, with ambiguity and playfulness cast aside in favour of disappointingly obvious reveals that start to pile up, one on top of another, without managing to make the most of the dark humour of the premise.

The three leads do decent work, but they are often hampered by Dillard’s script. Both Bryant and Payne are playing characters who feel a bit too one-note, especially while the former is playing the abrasive one of the trio. Dillard herself has the best character, perhaps that is where she was focusing during the writing process, and she also delivers the best performance. There are some other people onscreen, mainly potential murder victims, but this is mostly a three-hander. It’s a relief that the leads are up to the task, because otherwise this would have been unbearable.

Payne’s direction is simple and serviceable, I guess, but it is a step down from the last film I saw from him, Driven (2019), which was also written by Dillard. It can be difficult to cover up for limited resources in the world of independent film-making, but Payne doesn’t do himself any favours. Although competent, there’s no obvious growth on display here.

Maybe we will see an improvement with their next film. I will certainly keep giving them a chance, because I think they keep getting close to making something really good. This isn’t it though. Sadly, it falls just below average.

4/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Prime Time: Driven (2019)

Casey Dillard, who also wrote this film, stars as Emerson, a woman who earns a living driving for some kind of taxi service type of company. She also aspires to be a stand up comic, although that may not happen while she never actually takes the step up to the stage to give it a proper go. Things get very weird for Emerson when she picks up Roger (Richard Speight, Jr), a man who is actually dealing with a demon menace. Although they don’t get along at all, Emerson may end up being the best person to help Roger in his demon-destroying quest. 

Directed by Glenn Payne, Driven is a fun film that feels like it could have been even more fun if two things were changed. First, Dillard could have made the script much more amusing. She does well in fleshing out the main characters, and her own character has enough interesting aspects to her persona without being quirky for the sake of quirkiness, but there’s a lack of sharp wit in the plotting and dialogue. Second, this could have been made years ago. It now feels like a film that will be easily lost in the shuffle of movies that have a lead character working for an Uber-like company or cab firm. 

It would also help to plot this in a way that actually provided any tension, or made you feel that something was actually at stake. That would mean softening some of the edges of at least one character, or perhaps even making a point of explaining the repercussions of the demon problem in a way that signifies end of days kind of danger. 

Although a few other characters appear throughout the movie, it’s essentially a film focused on a driver and her problematic fare. Dillard is very good in her role, and gets to do even better as the second half allows her to develop her character further, and it’s obvious why she excels in a role that she wrote. Speight, Jr also does decent work, but is hampered by the fact that his character isn’t one viewers ever get to warm to. Even in the second half, Speight, Jr is left as a reluctant “hero” who doesn’t appreciate how his actions may impact others, or even how their lives may differ greatly from his own. 

Making movies is all about making what can seem to be an infinite number of choices, and I know that I have the easy life of commenting on them while having never made my own. There are people who may like the choices made here by both Payne and Dillard. The latter certainly seems to have wanted to ground some genre fun in a story that shows someone finding her own ability to bite the bullet and help others. And that is a very good choice to have made. I just wish there had been ways to either make the end result darker or much more fun, or both.

5/10

https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews