At the risk of punning, I’m going to cut to the chase (I’ll show myself out): I love slasher movies. I really love slasher movies. There’s a formula to them, and they often leave me cheering for the next death. I don’t even care some days about the character development – sometimes, I need blood, guts, and a whole lot of death. Extra points for creativity. I liked Anthony DiBlasi’s Most Likely to Die. Some will not like this film; in fact, I’ve talked to more people than not that disliked this. It’s not for everyone, but me? I’m going to give you five reasons to watch it this weekend.

#1 – Anthony DiBlasi directed it

I like DiBlasi’s work. Given, he didn’t write this one, so it’s not as strong as Dread or Last Shift in my opinion. However, the guy’s got a good eye for creepy imagery. You can tell that the man spent quite a bit of time watching fun, cheesy slasher flicks in his formative years – it’s in everything from the music to the shots to the editing. It’s nice to see that love come out without there being a dominating influence – not once did I go, “Someone watched too much John Carpenter as a kid.” Proof once again that he’s got some good tricks up his sleeve that we have yet to see. I’m a firm believer that we have yet to get to his magnum opus.

#2 – Unlikable characters

These characters are unlikable. So very unlikable. Every single one of them. This goes outside of the usual slasher flick dumbassery. These characters are catty, whiny, bitchy and entitled to the point of being so unpleasant that you would move seats if next to one of them in a bar… which means that they’re perfect for a horror film. To their credit, the entire cast does an excellent job in terms of making each part believable, which only added to the feeling of wanting them dead. I have not looked at a group of people and gleefully bounced in my seat because I really wanted them to die in a long time. That probably makes me a bad person, but I’m willing to bet that there are others in the same boat I’m in. Bearing that in mind…

#3 – Reunion realness

A friend of mine asked if I was going to attend my high school reunion a few years ago; my reply was a mixed bag. On one hand, if I wanted to keep in touch with someone, I did; on the other hand, I wanted to see a trainwreck in the form of someone that made life hell for everyone. This film captures that in essence: that feeling of schadenfreude for someone who was nasty to a group of people. It goes hand-in-hand with the unlikable characters. You get the sense early on that they were nasty pieces of work even back in high school, so it’s fitting to see that for many of them, life hasn’t been kind. It’s a darker piece of human nature we don’t want to admit is there, and it’s worth it to explore that feeling.

#4 – It’s not a marathon

I am notoriously antsy when it comes to sitting still. If you want to torture me, make me watch a Jim Jarmusch movie (so… slow…). The run time on this film is an hour and twenty minutes. That’s honestly a relief. I can respect something that knows when to pace itself and when to wrap up a story; I wish more films would do that. This one plugs along for the entire time; we’re not given a chance to get bored. That’s refreshing. Not everything has to be a Lord of the Rings-length film.

#5 – The fun of looking for clues

Call it a byproduct of being a child that grew up watching Scooby Doo, but there reaches a point where you look at everything and take it as a clue. There are horror tropes aplenty in this film, but again, they’re all fun. You’re also pleasantly surprised at the turns that this one takes. Even when it’s predictable, it’s got imagination. It wound up being a good ride for the duration because you kept trying to guess.

This one is available on Netflix. If you’re looking for something that will gleefully shred its inhabitants, come on down.