‘You Might Be the Killer’: An Underrated Slasher That Deserves More Love
One of the most frustrating things that can happen to horror fans is seeing movies we love never find a home online. Not only can we not toss them on for our own enjoyment, but we also can’t force them onto our friends! One such victim of this phenomenon is You Might Be the Killer. This funny meta supernatural slasher began as a Twitter joke (back when Twitter was fun) and had all the ingredients for success. However, it lives in limbo because there’s no way to easily access the movie.
On the surface, You Might Be the Killer seems like your typical maniac-turned-loose-at-a-camp scenario. The film follows a camp counselor suffering from sudden blackouts as he tries to figure out why his staff keeps turning up dead. He calls his friend, an expert in horror movies, who manages to help him realize he’s the problem. This is where the movie uses the tropes, references to other horror films, and quippy dialogue to set itself apart from the pack. It also wastes no time as it throws us into the middle of the action. We get an impressive body count (and a fun visual account of the dead) as the film works from a later point in the killing spree.
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You Might Be the Killer originated as a Twitter joke between two writers, Sam Sykes and Chuck Wendig. In the thread, Sam tweeted as a person who was camping and found himself surrounded by dead bodies. Chuck helped him realize the obvious answer that he was the killer by asking the standard questions. Hilarity ensued as the two had fun playing with tropes. Readers realized this was a good time, and the thread grew popular. The popularity resulted in the Twitter exchange getting pitched as a film and optioned. Covis Berzoyne, Thomas P. Vitale, and Brett Simmons were tasked with turning the thread into a script. Simmons would also direct this fun gorefest starring Fran Kranz and Alyson Hannigan.
I discovered this movie while working a survival job where I would dissociate at my computer during the weekdays. The trailer popped up, and I was geeked to see Hannigan back in the genre. At the time, I was still the kind of nerd who made time for yearly marathons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So, seeing one of my favorite Scoobies seemingly be the voice of reason in a slasher sent me to the moon. I also loved The Cabin in the Woods and remembered Kranz very well. After all, who can forget the stoner who almost saved the world with his iconic bong-travel mug hybrid? I made a mental note to catch this puppy in theaters, but that day never came.
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What did happen is that, while in lockdown in 2021, I was talking to a friend who was super late to the Buffy party. That’s when I remembered You Might Be the Killer existed. I figured it would be on a streamer by then, and I spent way too much time tracking it down on a Roku app called Oxygen. They gave me three tokens to watch stuff if I created an account. I worried this was some scam, but I was a woman on a mission. It became one of the best movies I stumbled across in quarantine. The film was delightful and bloody. It made me feel a little seen as a woman whose brain is used almost exclusively to store horror trivia.
Chuck (Hannigan), in her overalls, holding down a store filled with nerds while helping her buddy figure out he’s a killer, is too relatable. She clutches her “We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes” mug and drops horror references like they’re going out of style. Chuck is the voice of reason and understands the rules. She is Sam’s lifeline and therapist as she becomes a long-distance sidekick. She is the calm in the storm and knows how this movie ends.
I am a Chuck. As are most women, which is why I love her. The industry has always tried to sell us that horror belongs exclusively to cis men. That has never been true and never will be. By changing Chuck’s gender, You Might Be the Killer did something so radical. It is the nerdy lady representation many of us long for. The lack of love Chuck gets (because the movie is hard to find) upsets me to my core.
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While I’m discussing gender, Sam (Kranz) could be taken as a doomed dude with a simple character arc. Or, we could dip just beneath the surface for the interesting tidbits. We meet him covered in blood and drowning in mysterious (and suspicious) circumstances. However, he never suspects he might be the killer until his friend on the phone gently points it out to him. When this news seeps in, he blames it on the mask that makes him do these evil things. However, Chuck keeps pointing out his actions that led to him putting on the mask and slaughtering his crew. However, he is not receptive to that and blames the mask instead of owning his part in the grisly murders. Whenever he tries to destroy the mask, he hurts himself. Yet, he still distances himself from his actions because he’s not here to look inward.
You Might Be the Killer was released on Shudder in December 2018 and then got a DVD release. Since then, it’s been in streaming purgatory. Since leaving Shudder, it has only been available on the most frustrating apps. If you download SYFY or USA’s apps to cast it, they get stuck logging you in. When you give up the dream of casting it and open your computer, you still have the commercial breaks to contend with. You also have two choices. Watch it on your computer, or forage for your forgotten HDMI cable to plug it into your TV.
These are first-world problems, and I am a stubborn nerd, so I do these things. However, most casual viewers would prefer to tap a couple of buttons and relax. This is why it’s hard to get other people to watch this gem when they know they have put in so much effort to see it.
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This is extremely frustrating because it’s such a clever addition to the subgenre. Slasher fans especially will love it, as it can be difficult to find the next exciting title in our beloved canon. This is why I have been thinking about You Might Be the Killer a lot lately, especially in the wake of the love for In A Violent Nature.
People can shell out money for a Fubo subscription or fight with SYFY or USA to stream this underappreciated gem. Sure, a few lucky nerds probably picked up the DVD on a whim and can share it with their friends on movie night. However, the rest of us are stuck recounting our memories to people who don’t get it because they’re not able to watch it.
You Might Be the Killer made the festival rounds in 2018. It also holds a 60% on Rotten Tomatoes after only being reviewed 20 times. I believe it’s one of the most memorable 2010s slashers (take that as you will). I also sincerely believe it deserves a crack at streaming on one of the usual suspects again now that we are in a new decade. It’s fun, gory, and cool. Also, because all horror is political, it lends itself to interesting conversations. I would kill to see the articles written by people who discover it for the first time. The podcast episodes breaking it down through various intersections would send me into orbit. This is why I am taking my love of this film from whiney tweets and skeets to you, readers.
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How do we get You Might Be the Killer onto a streamer so it has a shot at finding a wider audience? An app where I can watch it without ads, and a fight to log in to use tokens? I do not know. However, I know it deserves better than the streaming purgatory it has been living in for years. It has earned the right to be a part of the conversation of amazing modern slashers. I would love to see it in front of the eyeballs of people who dug the anti-slasher Bodies Bodies Bodies. It would benefit from the recent slasher renaissance as people seek out more of the subgenre after leaving theaters. I want that for this movie, for my fellow slasher fans, and selfishly for myself because some of us could use a win.
Are you one of the lucky souls who have watched You Might Be the Killer? Find me rocking my overalls and sharing my horror knowledge on Bluesky.
Categorized: Editorials
