Most Likely to Die is one of those horror movies you’ve probably skipped over a dozen times on Netflix. Despite its vaguely interesting poster, Most Likely to Die looks like the kind of generic horror movie you’d find at the bottom of a dollar-bin. Perspectives may vary but the casting of Perez Hilton in a supporting role probably won’t inspire much confidence. There’s only a few days left of ‘Netflix and Chills’ before Halloween. Hopefully, this review will take out some of the guess work for your Halloween viewing.

Synopsis

Seven old friends meet at a former classmate’s remote coastal home on the eve of their 10-year high school reunion. When they arrive, their host and his girlfriend are missing. The hosts may be missing, but an unexpected guest turns up and looks to cut their party short. One by one the masked killer ..

Most Likely to Die Meets Minimum Slasher Requirements

Most Likely To Die isn’t a good movie per se, but it does occasionally veer into ‘mildly entertaining’ territory. Like any good slasher movie, Most Likely To Die has a fairly impressive looking killer, ‘The Graduate.’ No, the idea of a slasher villain garbed in graduate robes isn’t original. Older horror fans will point out that it was previously done in Slaughter High. But ‘The Graduate’ does strike the right creepy aesthetic. Equally important, ‘The Graduate’s’ tricked out academic cap with its sharp blade is a fun touch. There’s also a couple of fun death scenes worthy of the subgenre. In particular, one decapitation captures just the right amount of gross, over-the-top horror fun.

To put it another way, Most Likely to Die is a watchable movie that clips along for its 80 minutes.

For a low-budget slasher film, Most Likely to Die doesn’t look cheap. In fact, the production values are quite good. Director Anthony DiBlasi competently executives the deaths and scares. Some of the jump scares even work occasionally. No one is getting an Oscar for their work here. But none of the performances are wooden or distract. To put it another way, Most Likely to Die is a watchable movie that clips along for its 80 minutes.

A Slasher Film Reminiscent of Last-Minute Cramming

Unfortunately, Most Likely to Die isn’t really a good movie either. It’s like a student who has kind of read the syllabus, but only does the bare minimum. Chief among its offences, Most Likely to Die can’t escape the feeling that it’s a lazy attempt to be a slasher film. Laura Brennan penned the screenplay and, Ike that student, she’s aware of the major slasher fixtures. But the execution of these sub-genre tropes is underwhelming.

…Brennan’s screenplay concocts one of the more convoluted motives for its killer in slasher film history.

For instance, Jake Busey shows up for a few minutes as a red herring. But it’s so obvious and so fleeting that it seems almost pointless. Above all, where Most Likely to Die really falters is with the ‘terrible past incident’ that drives the story. Horror films have been using the social outcast narrative  and revenge as the ‘terrible past incident’ since the 1970’s. You would assume it shouldn’t be too hard at this point. Nonetheless. Brennan’s screenplay concocts one of the more convoluted motives for its killer in slasher film history. It’s a true head-scratcher that’s more likely to prompt eye-rolls than a franchise.

A Lack of Slashing Hurts Most Likely To Die

Another problem that quickly emerges in Most Likely to Die is pacing. On the one hand, it’s a trim 80-minute horror movie that doesn’t overstay its welcome. But DiBlasi and Brennan occasionally forget that they’re making a slasher movie. There are too few stalk-and-slash scenes and far too many character moments. It’s a surprisingly ‘talky’ movie. No one is watching a movie called Most Likely to Die for a poignant character study. DiBlasi andBrennan are asking us to spend time with characters who never register as much more than horror film stereotypes. By the end of the movie, it felt like there were a couple of characters still standing who should have been on the chopping block.

Most Likely to Die Does Enough To Pass, But Not Much Else

On the whole, Most Likely to Die does just enough to earn a passing grade. For horror fans looking for quick, brainless watch on Netflix, this slasher movie should have a enough jumps and death scenes to pass the time. With this in mind, it’s also not a good movie and it’s never dumb enough to be a ‘so bad, it’s good’ movie. The only real surprise in the whole movie is that Perez Hilton isn’t the worst part.

THE PROFESSOR’S FINAL GRADE: C-