Review of Tragedy Girls (2017) by Jake S — 19 Feb 2018

Ambitiously goes for Wes Craven meets Harmony Korine, but as far as new wave horror goes, this one is basically a tragedy. From beginning to end Tragedy Girls tries so annoyingly hard to deliver rapid-fire pop culture lingo with a ferocious energy because clearly the filmmakers are not merely trying to live up to Scream (the one that invented the sub genre) but rather one-up it.

.. As if there was ever a chance in Hell. I found this sloppy attempt to dethrone the king of contemporary slashers using forced wit and gore both disrespectful and delusional. I'm not sure if the people responsible for Tragedy Girls have seen too many horror films or not nearly enough.

The film runs spastically on bullshit hipster smugness which to its credit was somewhat impressive, that said, how can a film supposedly so hip be so out of touch with its core audience? While the trailer to Tragedy Girls failed impress me, I didn't go into the movie determined to shit on it because I actually admire this new sub sub genre of the 2000s which has given us some pretty entertaining while still derivative little horror flicks including Bad Kids Go To Hell and the wildly original Detention.

If only Tragedy Girls had replaced even a third of its style, commentary, and overall pretension for genuine scares, laughs, and overall fun, it may have achieved a place of respect, albeit in the shadow of Scream's legacy which, I'm sorry, is inevitable for any film of this nature.

Fortunately, Tragedy Girls doesn't overstay its welcome and boasts some killer cameos... lame pun intended.