Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Vicious Fun Blu-ray Movie Review

Minnesota nasty.

Cody Calahan's Vicious Fun is the rare horror-comedy that almost, almost bridges the gap between genres... but the yuks far outweigh the scares, for those keeping score at home. In Minnesota circa 1983, we follow hapless horror film critic Joel (Evan Marsh) during an unusually eventful night in his life: after lovely roommate Sarah (Alexa Rose Steele) is dropped off by her latest date Bob (Ari Millen, Orphan Black) and needs the place to herself, the unrequited schlub secretly follows Bob to a Chinese bar and restaurant. Posing as a stranger, Joel tries to glean some personal information about his roommate; instead, Bob bails on the tab and leaves with another woman. After a few more rounds and some good old-fashioned self-pitying, Joel passes out in a back-room closet and the place locks up for the night.

Or so we'd think: the kitchen's closed and now this restaurant is actually the top-secret meeting place for a serial killer support group. Led by Zachary (David Koechner, The Office), its members include no-nonsense Carrie (Amber Goldfarb, first seen in a cold-open killing), soft-spoken clown enthusiast Fritz (Julian Richings, Anything for Jackson), brutal giant Mike (Robert Maillet, known to long-time WWE fans as Kurrgan), knife-wielding Hideo (Sean Baek), and a man named "Phil" who hasn't arrived yet. Once Joel stumbles in, he's mistaken for the missing member and has no choice but to fit in, using his knowledge of horror films to improvise a backstory. But there are a few cracks in Joel's crude narrative, so he's soon exposed by the group... which now includes two-faced Bob himself, the eighth and final member.

End spoilers.

It's not quite a hidden masterpiece but Vicious Fun is just that, an entertaining and playful genre entry that survives its limited budget thanks to an original premise and a decent, self-aware script that serves up better twists and turns than its cold open suggests. Needless to say, it's a film that gets a good deal more interesting as its story unravels and the chaotic core group inevitably implodes from within. Gore hounds will relish a number of over-the-top, intestine-heavy kills that spill all the way over into a local police station after two central figures are brought in for (mostly) self-defense murders, and die-hard genre enthusiasts should appreciate its synth-heavy soundtrack and plenty of self-referential nods including the use of establishing horror tropes to gradually thin out the group's unluckiest members.

All told, Vicious Fun is a decent split-genre entry that should even hold up to repeat viewings, even if all the jokes don't fully land and portions of its story feel a bit gratuitous. (It absolutely didn't need to take place in the 80s, for example; not only do the film's story and production design not fully support this aesthetic, but it just seems like an easy way to brush off a few clichés and the absence of cell phones.) But there's a lot more right than wrong here, and maybe even enough to consider Vicious Fun a solid blind buy; part of this recommendation is owed to RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray, which includes a serviceable A/V presentation and a nice little assortment of film-specific bonus features.

Even so, your mileage may vary: for a less enthusiastic take, please see Brian Orndorf's theatrical review.

Vicious Fun Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

From a visual perspective, Vicious Fun goes all-in on the 1980s aesthetic -- not so much in its level of production design, but if you like neon side lighting you'll get your money's worth here. As such, color and contrast does most of the heavy lifting, although this digitally-shot production does feature a respectable amount of fine detail and texture on clothing and background details when the situation and mood demands it. Beyond that it's a generally flat and standard shot affair within genre boundaries, mostly with centered mid-range shots and the occasional Dutch angle paired with your standard over-the-shoulder conversations and a few shadowy jump scares. Aside from its nicely saturated palette, Vicious Fun is not an especially demanding experience so RLJ Entertainment's 1080p transfer has very few problems supporting it; compression artifacts and banding pop up from time to time (especially in largely gray locales with dim lighting), but no major problems to report on this dual-layered disc. It doesn't exactly push the envelope for Blu-ray disc performance but likely exceeds any and all streaming versions by a reasonably wide margin.

Vicious Fun Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Appropriately enough, the 80s-minded Vicious Fun keeps it kinda real in the audio department with a straightforward DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix. While a true surround sound presentation would have added to the creep factor in a few scenes, most of the film makes it through unscathed with a nicely detailed sound mix that features clean left and right separation, the illusion of depth depending on locale, and a nice presence for the propulsive and appropriately synth-heavy score by composer Steph Copeland. Overall, a fine presentation even with the lack of extra channels.

Optional English (SDH) and Spanish subtitles are included during the main feature but not the extras.

Vicious Fun Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with reversible artwork and a matching slipcover. The bonus features are fairly well-rounded for a film of this type, even if most of them are short and surface-level.

• Filmmaker Commentary - This candid and chatty commentary features director/producer Cody Calahan, producer Chad Archibald, co-writer James Villeneuve, co-writer/producer Christopher Warre Smets, composer Steph Copeland, and cinematographer Jeff Maher. From the sound of their remarks, this was likely a recent recording (the movie was released in 2020) but most of the material is still very fresh in their minds.

• Deleted Scenes & Alternate Takes (13 clips, 9:39 total) - Includes "Joel's Review", "The First Rule", "At Your Own Pace", "That's Classified", "Bob Confronts Joel, Dave, and Phil", "Debating How to Kill Joel", "Bob's Dance Sequence (Extended)", "Alive and Talking", "Typewriter 101", "Contact Sports", "Bob Calls Mike", "Searching the Station", and "In Good Hands". All are presented in 1080p with lossless 2.0 audio.

• Blooper Reel (4:26)

• From Script to Screen (3:57) - A brief comparison of the coda; obvious spoilers, of course.

• Behind-the-Scenes Photo Gallery (3:36) - Self-playing with music from the film.

• Trailer (2:01) - This promotional piece can also be seen here.

Vicious Fun Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Cody Calahan's horror-comedy import Vicious Fun is an entertaining little slice of throwback 1980s slasher fare with an original premise and a mostly smart script that overshadows most of its one-note but memorable characters. Although it's a bit self-indulgent and weak in spots, this is solid low-budget filmmaking that lightly treads through new territory and should stand up to repeat viewings. RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray package deserves some praise for its supportive A/V presentation and a nice little collection of extras including a group audio commentary with members of the crew. It's recommended for fans and first-timers alike at the studio's typically budget-friendly price point.