Retro Review: "Killjoy 3"

Please Note: This is repost of my review from 4/18/11. This review took place during Reviews from the Horror Chamber over at Film-Arcade.net where the Horror Chamber got its start.

Going into “Killjoy 3“, I didn’t know what to expect with this film. I haven’t seen any of the sequel, so I’m relatively new to the series.

The film is about a group of college students, who find a mysterious mirror on the doorsteps of the house that they’re house-sitting. They decide to open up the package, even though it’s not addressed to the them. Once it’s opened, Killjoy wants to lure the students and have them play in his own realm with his group of friends. Now the students must find out who is Killjoy’s intended victim, before he and his sidekicks have their way with them.

When thinking about “Killjoy 3”, I can’t stop and think about what a wasted opportunity to make a good film. Writer/director John Lechago does a good job with the direction of the film, but the writing was less to be desired. Lechago does a good job with the visual aspects. I liked the way that he and his special effects team made the effects good. It didn’t feel cheesy or bad to the point that it distract you from what was going on. It helped cover some of the flaws in this film. What saved this film from being unbearable, the way that Lechago is able to get good acting from his cast. I liked , how he’s handles that aspect. One of the things that he does, he gets the performances that he needs to make it work. It kept my interest, even though I had problems with the screenplay.

Lechago’s screenplay was bad, as there’s no other way to put it. For the first fifty five minutes, this film felt like a comedy than a horror film. There wasn’t any attempt to generate some scares or intense moments, which really hurts this film. I was waiting for more action, but instead he just focuses on how many one liners Killjoy can get off. It’s one of the reasons that this film fails. The other reason, Lechago holds the majority of the horror action, until the last fifteen minutes. Even then, that isn’t even handled right. There was no suspense or intensity in the action, which made me feel bored. Thankfully this was a seventy-seven minute film or else it could’ve gotten even more worse.

“Killjoy 3” is a film that had promise with the direction, but the screenplay makes this film fall flat on its face.

Review Rating: Two stars.