Departing Seniors

It's hard to hate on a film like 'Departing Seniors'. It feels like an inexperienced up-and-coming filmmaker taking their shot, and with a limited amount of talent they actually do a lot right.

Of course it's very sloppy in a lot of ways, and you have to look past that in order to enjoy it. The performances are often over the top - people yelling their lines when there is no need for it, for example.

The horror scenes aren't overly suspenseful but they are interesting. And it's a whodunit which is always a fun added layer to any film.

This is a film that means well and takes its best shot. Is it perfect? Far from it. But there's enough going on to keep it afloat. 6/10.

After being bullied by his peers, a high school teen is sent to the hospital and survives the encounter with the newfound ability to see the past or future of those he touches which forces him to use the abilities to save his friends when a savage killer begins stalking and killing his classmates.

This was a fairly enjoyable and likable slasher effort. Among the better aspects on display here is the intriguing setup that offers a somewhat intriguing setup mixing together several different elements into a teen slasher. The early setup of the early life within the friend group getting a chance to see their life together with a look at the different cliques in the school who are at odds with each other as the jocks bully the other guy and his friend, making for a nice bit of sympathy involving everything being brought up. As these incidents bring about the accident that reveals his ability to see their past or future based on touch and a generally great grounding within some highly topical LGBTQ commentary, it does a fun job of adding a solid paranormal bent to the typical teen slasher it's set up to be. The other enjoyable factor with this one is the way it handles the approach of the killer throughout here. The central concept of hiding the fact they've been killed by having the killer perform everything to make it appear as if it was a suicide allows for an intriguing hook that's pretty enjoyable and makes for not just some impressive setpieces but a hint of intelligence from the killing figure. As the stalking scenes offer up some intriguing scenes of the masked figure going through the school and taking them out before going through the process of setting everything up for the suicide appearance, there are plenty of likable factors here that go along with the wholly intriguing look of the killer to give the film a lot to like. There are a few drawbacks to this one that do hold it down. One of the main issues here is that the pacing to this one is the lackluster and draining pacing here which is quite bland for a majority of the running time. As it takes far too long spelling out the series of subplots involving the students and their lives following the incident as there's a lot to unpack with discovering it's presence and abilities, the first half plods along rather limply with a lot it has to spell out what's happening and it all comes at the expense of the stalking action normally found in these kinds of efforts which can be somewhat of a disappointment. The other real drawback to this one is a disturbing trend of off-screen kills that we then stumble upon later that leaves the whole thing excessively underwhelming repeating the same thing for most of its kills, keeping this one down overall.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Graphic Violence.

Every once in a while you find a horror gem among tons and tons of crap on the various TV streamers and this one is a good one for sure! The direction is on point and the acting is surprisingly good. Plenty of twists and turns throughout the story will keep you guessing. Saying anything else to avoid spoilers, but has "Happy Death Day" vibes with the better elements of "Scream".

Some Gory Gore hounds may be disappointed by the lack of blood and guts, and I doubt this one will be winning horror film of the year, but it doesn't detract from a fun "whodunnit?" teen slasher on a non-Hollywood budget.

Without ever having heard about the 2023 movie "Departing Seniors" prior to stumbling upon it, I still opted to watch it on account of it being a horror movie of sorts that I had not already seen. And without harboring a single expectation to the movie, I suppose writer Jose Nateras and director Clare Cooney had every opportunity to entertain me.

The storyline was sort of okay, though it was hardly something extraordinary. I mean, it was watchable for what it was, but the movie was struggling a bit with its pacing and having a mostly dislikable character gallery.

The acting performances in the movie were good. And while I was not familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list, then that was actually something that spoke in favor of the movie.

I suppose if you are a newcomer to the horror genre, then you will find more enjoyment in the narrative than I did as a seasoned horror veteran.

While certainly a watchable movie, this was hardly a movie that warrants more than a single viewing.

My rating of "Departing Seniors" lands on a four out of ten stars.

This was the first movie that I saw at Nightmares Film Festival 2023 as it kicked off Day One. This was the Ohio premiere for this film. I did read up a bit about it at work and it fit into a criterion for an October movie challenge as well so I knew that this had LGBTQ+ elements in it.

Synopsis: following an act of bullying, witty high school senior Javier (Ignacio Diaz-Silverio) develops psychic abilities which he must use to stop a mysterious serial killer targeting his classmates.

We start seeing Phil (Cole Steeves) bully an underclassman. The senior is convinced that because this younger swimmer messed up, it cost him winning a state championship in his final swim. Someone is stalking Phil after he lets the younger boy up. Whoever this is, they have on a drama mask. The killer slashes the wrists of Phil and pushes him into a pool. It is then thought that Phil committed suicide.

It then shifts to seven days before graduation. Javier is in the computer lab working on the school website. He is joined by his friend Bianca (Ireon Roach). I do want to point out that Javier is gay. He's been having a secret relationship with a jock, Brad (Sasha Kuzentsov). Javier hasn't even told Bianca.

The following Monday, we see that Javier is bullied. Trevor (Cameron Scott Roberts) leads the way here along with his girlfriend, Ginny (Maisie Merlock). Trevor is also best friends with Brad, who doesn't step in despite his relationship with Javier. I also want to bring up that Ginny is competing with Javier to be valedictorian. She thinks he is close due to being a gay and Hispanic. The problem is that she does everything by the book without necessarily putting in real thought or effort.

There is an accident that happens at school. William (Ryan Foreman) shows interest in Javier. Ginny wants to get back at the latter for mocking her in class. Trevor helps her to set up a 'meet up' between the two males in the library. This ends with Javier revealing that Brad is in the closet. They chase Javier and he falls down a set of stairs.

He wakes up in the hospital and is relatively fine, with one major change. Nurse Ramirez (Lorena Diaz) touches him and he has a vision. He has another by touching a painting in his room. This has him rattled. Bianca talks to him about it, but she isn't nearly as concerned as her friend is. This power comes in handy when Javier sees Brad trying to kill himself in the locker room. With the nurse and the painting, it was visions of the past. With his secret lover, it is of the future. Javier isn't getting the full story with his vision and there is something much more sinister going on.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is we have an interesting meshing of stories here. At the heart of this, we have a high school slasher film. We don't know who the killer is so Javier is using his newfound psychic abilities to figure out who is behind it. This made me think of The Dead Zone. What is great here is that Bianca is a movie buff. She asks if he's seen the movie or read the book. Javier hasn't, but the reference is for cinephiles or avid Stephen King readers. Since I fell in both camps, I appreciate it.

Then sticking with the murders, I want to delve a bit more into this. What is great here is that all the deaths are made to look like suicides. That is keeping the heat off the killer. The first looks like he slit his wrists. The second is hanging in the locker room. This continues until the climax. I do have a gripe here though. There is no way that they would continue to have classes or after school functions with this much tragedy. I get why the movie does what it does, but it is a bit out of the realm of believability as well. Making the killings look like suicides though, that is a great idea.

Let's then shift to the supernatural elements. I like how it is used here and that Javier isn't given complete visions. He sees things and tries to piece together what is happening. A good aspect is that he asks his father, Javier Sr. (Dale Rivera), if they a history of mental illness. It turns out that the did have a family member who also claimed to be psychic and she was called crazy. It's also good that it doesn't happen with everyone he touches. It can also work through touching items they've touched. I do have to say that the rules feel a bit loose, but not enough to ruin this. I do also think they get away from the psychic stuff for a long stretch as we build to climax. It almost then felt like just a plot device to keep us moving.

I did want to say that I guessed who the killer was. I'm not going to hold it against the movie as it isn't a giveaway. I've seen a good number of these murder mysteries and gialli, so I started to breakdown what we know and what is being given to us. I'll credit this for what they provided with red herrings. My only issue is that we don't have enough of them personally.

One last bit about the story as well is the commentary. We have a gay lead character. He is bullied in part because of that. This also has ripple effects that drives a wedge between Trevor and Brad. It has a realistic look though at teens and how their peers can judge them. It does well in showcasing how difficult it can be for sure.

I think next, I'll take this to filmmaking. I'll start with the cinematography which I thought was good. I like what they do with the visions. We see Javier sharing injuries when he is seeing visions and I thought that was a good touch that he's seeing things through the eyes of who he is touching. The editing works there as well. I'd guess that almost everything here was done with practical effects. As a slasher film, I think we have interesting kills in that they look like suicides. The soundtrack fit the vibe the movie needed as well. I do have a gripe that I tend to have with slasher films is that it is deliberately paced. It is a bit slow as the deaths slow down and we gear up to the climax. I do think it builds enough good things in the first half and we see how these deaths are weighing on our lead. The last sequence at the senior lock in does move along.

What I'll end out here with then is the acting. I thought this was good. Diaz-Silverio and Roach are in great tandem. I love their banter back and forth. They feel like old friends. I also like Diaz-Silverio as our lead. I care about what happens to him, which I need for a slasher film. Gellman is good as this teacher who cares about his students. I like the development of his character. Roberts, Merlock and Kuzentsov are good bullies. I liked Foreman in his role. I'll give credit to Diaz, Rivera and the rest of the cast to round this out for what was needed as well.

In conclusion, this is a solid supernatural slasher. What I'll say is that this is a rare one where we have good ideas behind the killings to hide that they're murders. There are also likeable and unlikeable characters with good performances all around. I do have negatives with the slower pacing, but that is what I expect with slasher films. It also feels like the psychic stuff is there as a plot device. This is still well-made though with the effects, cinematography and the rest of filmmaking. It also has good commentary with our lead being gay and the bullying that stems from it. It is fitting. I'd recommend this to slasher fans as this is a solid modern one for sure. I can see the commentary turning people off though, so be warned.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.