“AMITYVILLE KAREN” (2022) TAKES AN INTERNET TREND AND MAKES IT TERRIFYING
The whole “Karen” trend has continued to become more and more popular with every video of one of them being outrageous by yelling at someone getting posted by some random person on the internet. Hell, even one of my favorite TV shows “South Park” has made a few “Karen” jokes here and there with Randy Marsh being called one by his son Stan. It’s a bit of an insane concept if you take a step back and look at it. A “Karen” will verbally assault a complete stranger for no apparent reason, except that they feel the rules don’t apply to them.
Of course, our immediate response to that is to take out our phones, press record and then post it on the internet (not that I am saying they aren’t hilarious, they very much can be) is an odd concept if you think about it.
I don’t want to continue this rant too much, but I will say that internet trends (as popular as they are) shouldn’t crossover to the world of cinema. I mean if I’m being perfectly honest, I don’t think “YouTube stars” and especially “Tik-Tok Stars” should be acting in movies or try to go on stage to do stand-up comedy (I take this particular idea to heart, considering I’ve been a comedian for 12+ years. It takes a hell of a lot more than making a funny video. There is a whole different dynamic there). I’m sure there are people that may not agree with me, but that’s my “hot take” on it (drops mic and ends rant…I promise this will make sense more when I talk about the movie. Stay with me, people!).
Recently I had the opportunity to check out a movie mixing the realm of the “Karen trend” and horror called “Amityville Karen”. This movie stars Lauren Francesca, James Duval, Shawn C. Phillips, Caleb Thomas, Ashleeann Cittell, Derek K. Long, Kyle Clarington, Jennifer Nagle, Lilith Stabs, Craig Sapenoff, and more. This movie was written by Julie Anne Prescott and directed by Shawn C. Phillips. The synopsis for this movie is as follows (provided by themoviedb on IMDB):
“Every neighborhood has a Karen, and Amityville is no exception. When stealing a cursed bottle of wine from a struggling brewery, Karen soon finds that the price to pay is far more dangerous than your average hangover. Everyone in her path becomes prey, and not even a manager can be called to stop her.”
From start to finish this movie takes a hell of a lot of turns, not only with the plot but with the character development and really just the pacing of the movie. Now, I am not one to immediately jump to hating a film (I am not a big fan of people or movie reviewers who hate on a film just to hate on it) but I really tried to find some gems with this movie. I don’t know if it was the way the movie was shot, the special effects, or even just some of the character interactions, but something just was off to me about this movie.
The biggest thing about this movie to me was the plot. Sure, it is hard to make a horror movie parody based on an internet trend, but this felt a little forced in some parts of it. I mean, there were a few moments where I did get a chuckle out of some parts of this movie, so I will give them that. It really is hard to compete with horror spoofs out there like “Scary Movie”, “Dracula: Dead and Loving It” and so much more out there. We live in a world in which coming up with an original concept becomes harder and harder. They say, “It’s all been done before” and when it comes to some movie concepts, this is true. This might even be truer with horror movies. There has been an insane amount of horror movies out there that have crossed my path over the years. I mean this is completely obvious, but I have seen a shit ton of movies in my day, especially horror movies. We all know that horror is the top-tier genre when it comes to movies out there. This could be another reason why it is hard to come up with an original concept and even make it stand out.
With this particular movie, it felt to me more like a sketch on a comedy show than a movie. There were a lot of bits in the movie that didn’t land but there were some that did. Also, the concept of a “cursed bottle of wine” being the catalyst for causing this Karen to go into a supernaturally possessed rampage is pretty odd in my opinion. I will say that the shining gem from this movie for me was the actress who played the deranged Karen, Lauren Francesca. Granted this movie won’t win any Academy awards, but she did quite an amazing job with the role she was given. You can tell she wanted to make this her own and she accomplished it. Even though the plot and the way it was filmed took me away from enjoying it more, her performance really brought me back into it.
I was very convinced she really was a horrible person personified as a “Karen” and pulled off the bitchyness that went with that title. In my opinion, she carried this movie. Now, I am not saying that the other cast members didn’t do a good job. I am saying that her particular performance in this movie caught my attention just a little bit more.
While this movie may not be exactly my kind of movie, I still feel that there are people out there that would greatly enjoy this. Everyone has a different kind of humor they enjoy so it is possible this might be the kind of movie that gets a chuckle out of you. I’m not one to tell people not to see a movie, so there will never be an article that I suggest you do so. If anything, you should take a chance at every movie out there. I can’t tell you how many times I have been surprised by a horror movie that originally didn’t grasp my interest (trust me, there are so many out there). This is one of the biggest reasons why I would never hate a movie I review. So, if I am to challenge you with anything it is this, check this movie out, prove me wrong, and find a way to enjoy it in some way.
“Amityville Karen” is available now on DVD and on sale from MVD Entertainment Group. Get your copy here.
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