Popularity Killer (2011) (Short)

Directed by Steve Goltz


Written by Kevin Sommerfield


Stars: Courtney Ellen Bay, Matty Dorschner, Jennifer Frey, Mike Goltz, Hannah Herdt, Jamie Jo Roen, Kevin Sommerfield, Dana Terpinas

Release: self distributed DVD available here !





Steve Goltz and Kevin Sommerfield of Slasher Studios follow up brutal body count short Teddy with the lengthier teen horror Popularity Killer.

The film begins with Payton Highs most popular (and super bitchy) student 'Kaitlyn' (Dana Terpinas), meeting her maker at the hands of a killer sporting a freakishly glassy looking mask. The mask is really great and is kind of in the vein of the one used in 'Alice Sweet Alice' so this really impressed. Kaitlyn suffers a really rather nasty felling at the hands of her attacker so its clear this maniac has a real axe to grind!

After speculating on who might have commited this horrible act, fellow high schooler 'Courtney' (Hannah Herdt) gathers a few friends - and a few unwelcome guests - at her house to hang out and watch movies. Soon however, Kaitlyns killer makes a return appearance to wipe out the group for reasons unknown. Who is killing off Payton Highs most popular kids? Why? Will any of them survive?

Firstly I have to say it was great to see a longer film from these guys. Teddy was a great little film, not at all hindered by its running time but with a double length, Popularity Killer is able to introduce more characters and a killer with a stronger connection to their victims. I liked the characters in this short and with my usual favouring (I don't know why) of the bratty materialistic types; I really enjoyed Jennifer Frey's performance as 'Paige'. Paige is the kind of friend you can only take in small doses and is likely to complain about everything but she really amused me so good job! Mike Goltz reprises a very similar role to the one he played in Teddy, a mean, meat head with zero respect for anyone and zero redeeming qualities. This of course is a huge compliment to Mike who plays 'Nick' extremely well - the beer-can-opening-in-face scene was brilliant and came across as completely unstaged!

So, another well made short from Slasher Studios which shows a great love and respect for the genre. I urge people to follow these guys and see what they have coming up. Follow the link at the top of the page to buy DVD copies of their films and to find out more about them!