I was a big fan of Kyra Gardner’s Living With Chucky and have been impatiently waiting to see what she would do next. Luckily, she’s back with a new horror movie that is fun, cool, and also brings Aya Cash back to the genre. Slay is a Gen Z slasher that respects its subgenre while pushing it toward a more girlypop vibe, and it delivers laughs for all ages.
From The Mouths Of Babes
Chloe Cruze (Zoey Luna) is a wildly popular social media influencer. This puts her and her friends in the limelight, and she also contends with her mom, Christine (Cash), a bit of a stage mother. Gonna throw the first compliment and highlight that while Chloe is a trans character played by a trans woman, Slay lets her be just a final girl. We are not here with monologues or constant reminders about her identity to the point that it feels like the filmmakers are asking for an ally cookie. The movie is more invested in who she is as an entire person. It’s not trying to convince you this is intersectional feminism because it’s actually doing the work instead. Chloe gets to be a bit of a messy teen just like all of the other in the landscape. We fucking love to see it.
Anyways, after her best friend is murdered, Chloe and her crew head to an isolated cabin in the woods. We run into all the fun tropes we know and love, but with a new coat of paint, which makes it a bit more fun than it should be. The script, co-written by Gardner and Jimmi Simpson from a story by Luna and Catherine Clark, has quite a few things working in its favor. It’s at the intersection of comedies aimed at teen girls and slashers people try to pretend aren’t also for the teen girls. It walks its line and pushes through the cringe to get to the gold.
The Friends You Meet Along The Way
As mentioned before, Slay is stabbing hollow forms of feminism and letting them fall where they may. Chloe’s crew includes Faye (Talia Jackson) and Finn (River Alexander) as siblings with their own character arcs. Harmony (Reise Alexander) is the first fallen friend (who never did anything wrong in her life). I only wish she could’ve wacked Jenna (Shawnee Smith) again. Smith plays an almost Gale Weathers type who swerves into TERF territory. Smith and Cash are reminders that women actors do not disappear after the age of 25. However, they do get more fierce as they continue to master their craft. Cash remains undefeated and reminds us why she can never have too much screen time.
Some Strays
I don’t know if we’re allowed to talk about the mask, but that joke never got old. I hope the designer, Bryan Christensen, is having the best day ever. As a genre nerd, I also got a kick out of seeing that Tony Gardner and Justin Michael Patterson were in the special effects makeup department.
Jordi (Sean Giambrone), the kid with the unrequited crush on Chloe, will steal your heart. At the Screamfest LA Q&A that followed the film, audiences found out the actor was basically playing himself, and it is one of the few times that’s a compliment. Protect this cutie at all costs and give him more work ASAP!
Slay is a lot of things we love shoved into a blender filled with excitement about the genre. It also has a ton of pop culture references that somehow bridge the generational divides. It’s an easy breezy watch that got its fair share of reactions out of the audience I watched it with. It also made me feel less dead inside, which is apparently no small feat this festival season.
Miss Sharai Bohannon
I am a playwright, aspiring screenwriter, podcaster, and a bunch of other words I’m not allowed to use here. I am one-half of the podcast 'Blerdy Massacre', and I host another podcast, ‘A Nightmare on Fierce Street’, as well. I have bylines at Fangoria, HorrorBuzz, Neon Splatter, NightTide Magazine, and some other cool online outlets. I can usually be found yelling about intersectional horror on some social media platform or another. I am also a proud member of CherryPicks, The Online Association of Female Film Critics, and Rotten Tomatoes. If you can’t tell, I’m really fun at parties.
