[Film Review] When The Screaming Starts (2021)

“Serial kills don’t get forgotten. No one remembers the victim.” 

An investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker are invited to shadow a young man with ambitions to become the next infamous serial killer. 

Directed by Connor Boru and written by Boru and Ed Hartland, the first thought that struck  me while watching the film is how similar it is in concept to the 2006 mockumentary Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. This instant comparison in my brain probably didn’t do me too many favors during the viewing, but they are ultimately two separate films with two separate goals and a different ride from start to finish.

Aidan (Ed Hartland) comes across as instantly harmless and a bit bumbling in his quest to emulate famous murders and gain notoriety through a documentary about his exploits. Claire (Kaitlin Reynell), his Wednesday Addams-esque girlfriend, is a death-obsessed comical hyperbole. The various personalities that make up their “family”--swindler Jack (Yasen Atour), Shining twin lookalikes Veronika and Victoria (Ronnja Haugholt and Var Haugholt), hapless accidental initiate Masoud (Kave Niku), and the alluring psychopath Amy (Octavia Gilmore)--help to people the screen with interesting personalities as it becomes increasingly clear that Aidan, who prefers to be a behind the scenes puppetmaster rather than the guy holding the knife, is not cut out either for the thrill of the hunt or for the audience’s attention as its protagonist. Meanwhile, everyman Norman Graysmith (Jared Rogers) is the POV we quietly slip behind during the film, that is, until Norman is not so quiet. 

The strength of the film is in its black comedy elements. While Behind the Mask sought to be an earnest story about the relationship between documentarian and subject set to the backdrop of Scream style meta-commentary on the slasher genre, Aidan and his goals come across as one man’s weak attempt to be something he is not and he finds himself suddenly lost in and left behind by the people who truly are everything he hoped he would be. In the process, he loses his girlfriend, his friends, and even the interest of the documentary crew in a pathetic spiral that might be all-to-familiar to many burnt-out Millennials. And while the climax of this film has a spiritual similarity to Behind the Mask as well, it achieves a different emotional tone as we watch something of a light Greek tragedy play out for an unfortunately pathetic man who, ultimately, earns our pity. 

Another interesting element  is its take on exploitative filmmakers and journalists, as Noman Graysmith embodies a host of documentarians who have used their medium and platform for less than altruistic means. Rogers plays his role with the kind of punchable-face smarminess necessary to embody the true villain of the story in a fascinating turn where a would-be killer becomes a bullied victim whose ineptitude and lack of ambition loses him far more than his macabre dreams. 

What you get in When the Screaming Starts is a gory dark comedy populated with memorable characters and a well-crafted and self-sufficient narrative arc for our main character. That being said, its tone and close relation to similar works may not make it everyone’s cup of tea but it’s a solid choice for B-movie nights and light, fun horror for your more scaredy-cat friends.

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