Film Review: PERPETRATOR: Jennifer Reeder’s Bloody Horror Film is a Bizarre Experiment Full of Peculiarity [Tribeca 2023]

Thomas Duffy June 8, 2023Last Updated: June 8, 2023

Perpetrator Review

Perpetrator (2023) Film Review from the 22nd Annual Tribeca Film Festival, a movie written and directed by Jennifer Reeder and starring Kiah McKirnan, Alicia Silverstone, Christopher Lowell, Ireon Roach, Melanie Liburd, Ilirida Memedovski, Josh Bywater, Avery Holliday, Casimere Jollette and Sasha Kuznetsov.

If it weren’t so self-indulgent, filmmaker Jennifer Reeder’s new horror movie, Perpetrator, would probably be laughed off the screen. It’s quite preposterous at times and showcases some of the worst dialogue of the cinematic year (at one point, a character says some escaped victims smell “really bad”). Reeder just does whatever she wants, though, and that makes for a rather interesting movie. It’s almost impossible to predict which turns this film will take and that’s a plus among the many minuses. Well-cast in the central role of the picture is Kiah McKirnan who is very good as the lead character, Jonny. McKirnan doesn’t hide behind any fancy characterizations–she is who she is and that’s enough to make horror film audiences want to follow her in this movie.

The movie opens with a sort of Seven-ish vibe but, after about ten or fifteen minutes, it becomes something like Heathers before turning into its own freakish horror movie that will leave more mainstream viewers scratching their heads in wonder as to what kind of movie Reeder set out to make.

Jonny is a wonderfully constructed character. Jonny’s dad seems a bit strange in the opening stages of the picture and is in desperate need of money (but that’s not why he’s strange). After some interaction between Jonny and the father character (whose face seems to be shifting at one point), the movie takes a turn for the worst (in almost every way possible) when Jonny goes to live with Aunt Hildie (Alicia Silverstone, remember her?) who seems ready to celebrate her niece’s 18th birthday in some kind of unique style.

At Jonny’s school, she meets a group of somewhat popular girls who will soon seek her help. Jonny has no means of financially doing anything to help anyone, though. She’s stuck in a rut with Aunt Hildie seemingly of little help. Christopher Lowell in a really uninspired performance plays Principal Burke who is involved with (I think) the school guidance counselor who asks a lot of questions such as whether or not Jonny is sexually active. Jonny responds predictably sarcastically in a humorous scene.

Perpetrator has a lot of oddball characters but Aunt Hildie takes the cake as the most unusual in the whole entire film (and, that’s including some seriously demented psycho characters in the picture). Silverstone’s performance would probably disappoint her loyal fans. However, her sequences talking with Jonny are rather memorable. When Hildie presents a cake to Jonny, the plot takes flight as Jonny starts to have a bloody mouth after digging into a slice of cake. She fills the toilet with spit up blood. Something is wrong. Very wrong.

While this is happening, girls about Jonny’s age are disappearing. Perhaps, they are being killed. A cop is about to witness Jonny goofing off with friends when Jonny meets Elektra (Ireon Roach). The two of these characters start to build a relationship together while hiding from the cop. It all happens too quickly to be believable. Jonny and Elektra share some steamy romance which is basically just time-killer in a movie like this.

By the end of the movie, the female characters (and maybe some of the male ones) fall short of being totally clever creations. That said, there are some intriguing sequences where Jonny comes to love Elektra. Both young actresses are satisfactory in their parts. It is Silverstone who doesn’t create her character so terrifically. I don’t know if she’s performing as she was asked or if she missed the boat here.

While Perpetrator has the markings of a genius director, it feels like a rough cut. A scene where some teens dress in old lady masks is funny and different, though. Reeder ultimately goes “all out” with some of the most disturbing scenes you may find in horror movies this year. Blood is in great supply as young girls keep disappearing and Jonny bravely faces the one key character who may be the dumbest psycho of the year. It’s hard to discuss the movie’s secrets without giving away pivotal plot points.

Kiah McKirnan is a gifted performer who may have the potential to do pretty much anything she wants (after this) in the indie film land. She brings Jonny the personality she needs to make us invested in her while trying to figure out if she’s a vampire (or something like that) all throughout the picture.

It’s not a really fun movie to watch but Perpetrator has its moments. Alicia Silverstone camps it up here and this could be the last type of role you’d expect to see her in. When she tries to make Jonny eat something on her table (everything like her coins are pretty much inedible), it’s a WTF moment. In fact this whole film is full of such moments.

In the final analysis, Perpetrator is a mixed bag of a horror film. It’s undeniable there’s talent involved in the project. You’ll just have to swim through the blood to see what they were trying to do with this particular movie which basically works only in spurts. It’s a close call but this film is too bizarre for its own good. Maybe that’s what Reeder wants.

Rating: 5.5/10

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