The Laughing Mask

Caught an early screening and was very surprised. Honestly from the previews I was expecting another Jason or Michael Myers but this was so much more.

I've read somewhere that the director was inspired by "Angel Heart" and you can see several nods to this movie there, the twist ending was unpredictable and fun, and the acting was very good. I loved the character of the Mask though, the mask was cool, creepy and still fun. HIs attire was a total nod to Angel Heart with the 1930's old school clothing with a dash of Joker on top, The Laughing Mask killer is not just funny, he is Lethal..

At first you think all the killings are random, but once the story develops you see exactly whats all about

I won't give any spoilers but its a jaw dropper ..

The story starts with a random murder. We don't know anything about the victim until months later, we're told her name was Jaycee Johnson and her husband Jake is a writer hellbent on revenge. As far as Jake knows, The Laughing Mask killed his wife and kidnapped his daughter. Enter Kate O'malley (played by Sheyenne Rivers) a tough cop with a the language of a sailor, Kate was friends with Jaycee and took a leave of absence after her death.

Jake writes a book about The Laughing Mask, telling all kinds of disparaging things about the killer hoping to goad him to attack Jake.

The rest falls under spoiler territory but you won't be disappointed.

Loved the killer, Laughing Mask is scary and funny at the same time, he's cool and it remind me of what would happen if The Shadow and The Joker had a love child.

That said I wanted rip roaring killing spree.. I saw a dude with a chainsaw man and blood in the preview and I wanted carnage and didn't get it. The kill scenes are not graphic or gory but at least they're kill scenes, but there is not enough "mask time" in the movie for my tastes.

Every second of the storyline I was just basically waiting for the mask to show up again and kill people LOL . It was not a bad movie, just not at all what I was expecting. I wanted blood dammit.. blood blood blood!!!!

Looked interesting, was free on Tubi and why not? Its not high budget but the use of practicals was very well done. The quality shifts a lot, like the scene where they find the body was awful but the kill scenes and especially his "lair" was very well done. The killer steals the show but there are little things here for everyone. Ending left it super open to what? I couldn't find anything after this. The killer character has the bones to be a superstar to be honest, I loved the look, the 30s aesthetic and music choices, Unfortunately it was wrapped around some very mid talent outside the main actress and the main bad guy.

Best things of the movie are the killer and the aesthetic. Ive seen other people mentioning, there are scenes in his lair or house that are VERY well done, really stylized and give a great sense of what the director was going for. Unfortunately those are sometimes sandwiched with wooden acting from John Hardy for example who seemed to be having a seizure in the final reveal for some reason. This is definitely a low budget feature with a lot of potential with a higher budget, especially for the main killer.

For example since this is on Tubi TV for free and they have 0 content that is original, throwing a little money on making a series based on this killer with some A talent actors even B involved would be freaking awesome. The weakest part of the movie really is what plagues every low budget feature, but they still managed to get a few strong performances from Rivers, Gabriel Lee and a few others.

Admittedly, it does start to drag in the beginning and is kinda cheesy and low budget at times... I almost gave up on it, but glad I stuck with it.

It picks up nicely and has a very solid end. The killer is the best part of the movie, for sure.

And while the acting many times does really leave something to be desired there are also several moments of good dialogue, and as I said I thought the killer for sure was well acted.

Perhaps the best thing about the movie is that there are several very funny moments but it doesn't stoop to like 'B' movie humor - it does keep a straight face (pardon the pun couldn't resist...)

Give it a shot - just remember you might have to stick it out for a little bit but worth it, IMO.