Director – Rob Collins (Season’s Greetings 2)
Starring – Celeste Blandon (Phantom Fun-World, He Comes to Kill), Kaylee Williams (The Barn Part II, Zombie Babies), and Shawn Burkett (A Shameless Revenge, Bludgeoned)
Release Date – 2025
Rating – 3/5
I’ve been reviewing at Horror Society for a long time and met a lot of amazing people along the way. When I first started this journey all that time ago I befriended the folks over at Concept Media. Since then they have added a few more faces to the company but the original co-founders Shawn Burkett and Ryan Stacy are still there.
Sometime ago Concept Media announced that they would be working on a new slasher from director Rob Collins. Rob has worked with Concept Media for sometime now in various roles and this would be his first feature length film if I’m not mistaken. Sometime had passed and I forgot all about the film, Mr. Buzzkill, until Shawn sent over a press release with a screener link. I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to check out a new Concept Media flick so I jumped on it as soon as I could. I want to thank Shawn and the rest of Concept Media for sending this one my way.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a bunch of slackers who are sitting around a campfire getting stoned when one of the groups tells the others the story of Mr. Buzzkill who killed several people where they are now. The story goes that a group of twenty-somethings acquire the keys to an old summer camp with plans of partying and fornicating. However, their night of debauchery ends in bloodshed when Mr. Buzzkill arrives. **Spoiler Alert**
Concept Media has created several unforgettable films over the years. These films range from thrillers, crime dramas, fan films, slashers, and their most popular film is a monster movie that spawned a sequel. I’m a huge fan of Concept Media and though Rob may have only directed a short in the Season’s Greetings sequel I knew he would going to deliver one hell of a film.
The acting in this one is very uneven but I wouldn’t call it bad. The entire cast seems to be having fun on set and does a great job getting into character. However, a lot of the dialogue delivered seems forced. This makes the scenes a bit awkward to watch. With that being said, we see a lot of familiar faces with some Concept Regulars returning along with indie horror royalty Kaylee Williams. I would have loved to see her in the film a bit longer.
The story for this one is very generic but I dig that when compared to more modern slashers who go overboard with the back stories. The late 70s and early 80s saw the masked slasher killing those that wronged him or his family. These slowly moved away from camp ground to schools and colleges. The 90s saw the rise of the meta-slasher that poked holes in the cliched slasher films that came before it which carried over into the 2000s. However, it was during the mid-to late 2000s that we saw serial killers and slashers morph together. Mr. Buzzkill’s story reminds me a lot of the slashers I used to buy around this time from companies like Brain Damage Films where we follow a troubled youth who becomes a lifelong killer. It still pays tribute to the slashers of the 80s with the mask and taking us back to camp but the backstory is very reminiscent of the slashers of the 2000s.
Finally, the film has a lot of bloody deaths that fit the film very well. They are not that gory but they look good and the practical effects work. I would have liked to see a bit more memorable deaths but it’s still enjoyable for what it is. Overall, Mr. Buzzkill is a slasher for modern genre fans. While it days pay tribute to slashers from the golden age, it updates several elements so lifelong genre fans have something a bit different to enjoy. It has a lot of blood, some boobs, and a decent set up. I highly recommend it.
