“Totally Killer” is a horror time travel film that takes us straight back to 1987 through the lens of an angsty Gen-Z teenager Jamie (played by Kiernan Shipka) from 2023. The campy film takes inspiration from a plethora of ’80s film references like “Back to the Future” as Jamie travels to the past to stop the gruesome and unsolved suburban murders of three teenage high school girls called the Sweet 16 Murders.
There are countless ’80s Easter eggs in the 1987 John Hughes-tinged world filled with pastels, puffy sleeves, acid-washed jeans and most importantly an iconic fringe white leather jacket that Jamie wears throughout the film in its two timelines. The film’s director, Nahnatchka Khan, pitched the film in an interview with Salon: “What if there was a serial killer running around in ‘Back to the Future‘?”
The film really plays into the nostalgia factor with its costumes and fashion sense, its commitment to Jamie joining the ranks of ’80s final girls like Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, and its love letter-like nods to John Hughes.
Here is a list of eight ’80s references you may have missed while watching “Totally Killer.”
Okay, so you definitely didn’t miss this reference because it is one of the biggest references throughout the film. But I feel like it’s worth stressing that the film really hones in on the aspect of time travel to save the fate of Jamie’s mom’s future which is literally the plot of “Back of the Future.” Jamie herself even mentions the film to her ’80s counterparts to try to plead her case that she is from the future. Of course, it doesn’t work but Jamie’s arc is truly about her relationship with her parents and their past and current selves.
The vintage fashions in “Totally Killer” are a large part of the references in this film specifically when highlighting Jamie’s teen mom Pam’s (Olivia Holt) clan of mean girls called The Mollys. The self-proclaimed Mollys only call themselves that because they all dress like Molly Ringwald’s iconic characters from her plethora of John Hughes films like “The Breakfast Club,” “Pretty in Pink” and “16 Candles.” Each mean girl has a different Molly look. Costume designer Henderson said that she traveled up and down the West Coast with her buyer to find vintage pieces for all the different Molly looks. Henderson’s team also recreated the legendary “Pretty in Pink” dress for one of the Mollys.
John Hughes was clearly a mega inspiration for this 1987 world. Not only is the film’s lens warmer in the ’80s, but the colors are softer, too. From the fashions to the high school dynamics and the defiance of parental and authority figures — all these Hughes-esque themes are heavily present in “Totally Killer.” Most importantly, even though this is a horror film, it feels like it’s a high school coming-of-age story which Hughes knew how to execute all too well. In ’80s Hughes fashion, the film also addresses the more problematic aspects of this type of genre of film, which can sometimes be racist, sexist and homophobic.
Read more
about this topic
#Totally #Killer #80s #references #missed