Manuel here to talk about a new entry in that ever-growing queer horror genre, just in time for Halloween!
What if you were so steeped in irony that, when a random (but totally hot) stranger creeps up to you, admits to stalking you and having killed his ex-boyfriend you think it’s the funniest thing in the world, because, like, who even says things like that?
“Well, he’s not scary. He’s gorgeous! He just has a weird sense of humor…”
That’s the premise behind Jim Hansen and Jeffery Self’s You’re Killing Me, a horror comedy playing at NewFest just in time for Halloween.
The horror comes courtesy of Joe, the monotone-voiced serial killer (Matthew McKelligon) who feels so liberated by his kills that he freely admits to them though he’s seldom taken seriously until… well, until it’s too late, obviously.
“That feeling you’re feeling right now… just let it take you over”
The comedy comes courtesy of the very talented comedic ensemble around him: Drew Droege (of Chloe fame!), Bryan Safi (from Throwing Shade!), Sam Pancake, Jack Plotnick, Rachel Shukert and Edi Patterson, all of whom have honed that Funny or Die sensibility that turns the group scenes into particularly hilarious set-pieces (in gay parlance, you haven’t lived until you’ve seen Safi’s various “character-y” ideas he has for his YouTube channel. Spoiler alert: they all involve various wigs).
And of course there’s Self as George, whose self-involvement and ironic sensibility literally blind him to take anything Joe says in earnest.
“No he is quiet but I think that’s cool. I don’t have to have a competition to get a word in edgewise and I know it makes me sound like an asshole, but I get to be the star when he’s around. And he’s okay with that!”
That the entire film careens into self-parody territory ending as a lighthearted indictment of YouTube fame and victim-culture is perhaps fitting given the film’s interest in self-absorbed performers who drown each other out so as to get feedback on their latest joke/video/screenplay/song idea. In other words, it’s very LA! It also seems tailor-made for pop-culture obsessed actressexuals. The opening scene has a game of celebrity that becomes a shouting match about Jane Krakowski, Juliette Lewis and the Vacation films. Oh and did I mention there’s a hamster named “Meryl Streep”?
Check out the trailer for the film:
You’re Killing Me plays at NewFest on Sunday October 25 @ 8:00 pm as part of Queer Horror Night.