When the infamous Sweet 16 Killer returns 35 years after his first murder spree to claim another victim, a young woman accidentally travels back in time to 1987, determined to stop the killer before he can start. A film by Nahnatchka Khan, starring Kiernan Shipka, Kelcey Mawema, Lochlyn Munro, Julie Bowen, Olivia Holt, and Charlie Gillespie.

On October 27, 1987, in the small town of Vernon, teenage girl Tiffany Clark (Liana Liberato), was found butchered in her family’s garage on the night of her sweet sixteenth birthday. Two days later, 16-year-old Marisa Song (Stephi Chin-Salvo) was killed at a cabin in the woods, and two days after that, on Halloween night, 16-year-old Heather Hernandez (Anna Diaz) was murdered in the parking lot of Billy’s boardwalk. The police discovered that each victim had been stabbed sixteen times, and the media dubbed the killer the Sweet 16 Killer. He remains at large, vanishing without a trace after his third kill. According to eyewitnesses, he wore all black and a mask, which has become infamous in Vernon. Every Halloween, people still dress up as the murderer.

On Halloween evening thirty-five years after the Sweet 16 Killer terrorized the town of Vernon, Jamie Hughes (Kiernan Shipka), a sixteen-year-old girl, argues with her mother Pam (Julie Bowen), who doesn’t want her to attend a concert with her friend Amelia Creston (Kelcey Mawema). Pam fears for her daughter’s safety, given that the police never caught the serial killer, despite Jamie’s assurances that she has pepper spray, a rape alarm, and has taken self-defense classes since she was seven. Jamie finally convinces Pam to let her go, but only if her father Blake (Lochlyn Munro), drives her to the concert, waits for her until it’s over, and brings her home.

On that night, Pam is at home alone when she is attacked and brutally murdered by a man wearing all black and a mask. The police discover that she was stabbed sixteen times, and they also find text messages between Pam and crime journalist Chris Dubasage (Jonathan Potts), who runs the Sweet Sixteen Killer podcast tour.

Jamie finds Amelia at the abandoned amusement park, where she is putting the finishing touches on a time machine she built from her mother’s notebook. The machine is not working properly. But Amelia plans to use it to travel back to 27 October 1987, to stop the killer from killing in the first place, which could change history, and Jamie’s mother would still be alive.

Chris approaches Jamie, who is still grieving the loss of her mother. He tells her that Pam was helping him investigate the Sweet 16 Killer case, which had been abandoned by the police. He also shows her a piece of paper with the words “You’re next, one day” written on it, claiming that Pam gave it to him. Chris asserts that Jamie has been the target of a serial killer all these years.

Jamie returns to the abandoned amusement park that evening, only to find herself chased by the killer. She hides in the time machine, but the killer finds her and accidentally stabs his knife into it, activating the machine and sending her back to 1987. Jamie realizes that she must stop the Sweet 16 Killer in order to save her mother’s life.

Jamie’s reaction to learning that her parents were once popular is amusing, as she now finds herself in the position of having to save the day and ensure that her young father Blake Huges (Charlie Gillespie), and young mother Pam Miller (Olivia Holt), end up together.

TOTALLY KILLER is another fun ride filled with unexpected twists and turns from Blumhouse Productions, continuing the recent resurgence of the sci-fi slasher genre sparked by HAPPY DEATH DAY. While the film is gleefully campy and allows its characters to indulge in 80s nostalgia, viewers never feel a genuine sense of peril, as it is unclear whether the protagonist’s actions will create ripples in the future from which she came.

TOTALLY KILLER premiered at Fantastic Fest on 28 September 2023. The film was released on Amazon Prime Video on 6 October 2023.