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Buzzkill (2026)


Buzzkill is a slasher that suffers from overacting, cringe dialogue, and characters who are almost impossible to take seriously. The first victim is supposed to be college-aged, but the actress looks like she is clearly in her thirties, which makes the setup immediately distracting. The movie also constantly makes references that feel like even the actors have no idea what they are actually talking about. It gives the impression that the writers wanted the characters to sound clever without bothering to make their dialogue feel natural.

Siena Agudong gives off obvious final girl vibes, and she has the presence to carry that role. The problem is her character is so annoying that it becomes difficult to understand why everyone around her treats her with such reverence. The movie seems determined to convince us that this character is far more likable and important than her actual personality suggests, which makes the character development feel completely backwards.

The writing also ends up hurting the movie's female representation. Instead of creating interesting and believable female characters, it feels like the movie is trying so hard to make certain characters empowering or important that they become irritating caricatures. Representation works better when the characters are actually well written rather than when the script constantly insists that the audience should admire them.

The one real saving grace is the direction from, Jem Garrard. There is clearly some talent behind the camera, and the movie occasionally looks much better than the material deserves. Unfortunately, a slasher needs more than competent direction to work. One of the key ingredients of a slasher is missing here, and the movie instead leans heavily into comedy. I'm completely fine with a horror comedy, but if the comedy does not land, then at least the horror needs to carry the movie. Buzzkill does neither consistently enough to overcome its terrible dialogue and irritating characters. Result: D+

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