For better or for worse, Diblasi hits the nail right on the head.

Late last year during a phone conversation with director Anthony DiBlasi, I inquired about his upcoming film, Most Likely to Die. At the time, it seemed like an awesome idea. Diblasi was fresh off of his uber-successful Last Shift and was directing from a screenplay that was written during the height of the cheesy 90s slashers of yore. In fact, DiBlasi went so far as to call Most Likely to Die his ode to the 90s slasher. Now that the film is available for public consumption, I think it’s safe to say that DiBlasi, for better or for worse, hit the nail right on the head.

You see, it turns out that 90s slashers are just as terrible in the mid-2000s as they were in the 90s. The acting is mostly drab, the music is goofy, and the plot is laughably absurd. That said, it’s not like that combination has never proven to be successful in the past–it just isn’t here. Most Likely to Die takes itself far too seriously for you to cut it any slack as a viewer. And for all of the 90s influences that the film gets “right”, it fumbles on the most important of them all–the reveal of the killer. Of course, I won’t spoil it for you here, but I won’t have to. it’s painfully obvious who the man behind the (admittedly cool) mask is after roughly 30 minutes into the film. Mystery has always been a big part of this medium, and Most Likely to Die butchers it.

Most Likely to Die takes itself far too seriously for you to cut it any slack as a viewer.

Speaking of butchering, there isn’t much in terms of kills in this one. And while the violence certainly ramps up towards the final act, the first half of the film almost feels like a made-for-tv feature. If it wasn’t for the occasional F-bomb, it would have felt right at home there. It’s not all bad, though. There’s one (maybe 2) particularly gnarly kill, and Perez Hilton turns in a performance worth being proud of. Sure, it’s over-the-top and cringe worthy at times, but he got a few legit “LOL”s out of me. I didn’t expect that.

The first half of the film almost feels like a made-for-tv feature.

Alas, when it’s all said and done, Most Likely to Die is a far cry from Diblasi’s Last Shift and an enormous step backwards in terms of filmmaking in general. There are no scares, no surprises, and very little fun. When it comes to modern slashers, this one certainly finishes at the bottom of its class. Better luck next time, I suppose.

Most Likely to Die is now available on various VOD platforms.

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