By Grant Duvall

A Bloody Good Time.

I have a confession to make. I have never seen a Brazilian film. When I was asked to review Fabricio Bittar's "Ghost Killers vs. Bloody Mary," I had no idea what to expect. I wasn't sure what the quality would be like and I figured it would be very similar to straight to television bargain bin horror that would be a chore to sit through. Fortunately, I was wrong, and this wound up being one of my favorite horror films of all time.

The film is about a group of wanna be Youtube Ghostbusters led by Danilo Gentili who are trying to gain more views. Even their car has a knockoff Ghostbusters logo and they call themselves the Ghostbusters. As a side note, there are plenty of nods to the Ghostbusters films without feeling too in your face or relying too heavily on a franchise to try to sell movie tickets. It's more done in a Stranger Things type way where it pays homage without ripping off. The gang learns that Bloody Mary herself has been summoned in a school and as a way to get more views, lock themselves in for the night and hope that this is all a rumor that they can play up much like ghost hunting television shows. Bloody Mary of course is the demon we were all told as children would come if we locked ourselves in the bathroom, looked in the toilet and mirror, turned out the lights, and said "Bloody Mary" three times. Unfortunately for them, Bloody Mary has indeed been summoned and they are indeed screwed as the body count rises. Of course, this movie goes through all of the traditional horror movie tropes but is self referential as it's very aware of the formula ("This is the part where someone would put a hand on my shoulder and I would jump and the audience screams and I turn around and it's my friend," and sure enough that happens).

This movie is a perfect blend of comedy and horror. Many films attempt to get the balance just right, but they usually tend to be disjointed. That is not the case in this one. I was laughing my way through the movie while covering my eyes as there were some genuinely gross moments. There are toilets full of blood, fetus battles, and one of the funniest (and most disturbing) poop scenes of all time. Bloody Mary herself is genuinely terrifying. The whole cast was great and while looking online, none of them appear to have been in anything released exclusively in the States. In fact, for many this film was one of their first gigs but they were so natural in the roles that I figured that they were all well established actors.

The biggest star of the film though are the special effects. These, from what I can tell, are all done practically and therefore look incredibly realistic. Bittar, who wrote as well as directed, understands that cgi tends to not age well and oftentimes looks cheap and unrealistic. There's no real replacement for gallons of blood though so they are here in spades. The special effects were also very fun, so while there were horribly gross things happening throughout the movie, I was enthralled as so many of the practical effects and creatures were original.

With so much fun and gore, a horror fan would be remiss to not see this film. Also, there is a really fun scene after the credits, so be sure to stick around. Bittar has a fresh new voice for horror and has definitely found his calling in life. I hope he continues in this genre and becomes the next big name in horror. This movie is a solid A for me, and unfortunately I can't force you to watch it, so the next best thing is for you to just read out loud "Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. Bloody Mar---"

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