Trigger Warnings: Mental health issues are serious. Culturally, we need to do better by expressing these issues and dealing with them in healthy ways for everyone’s benefit. That said, film is art and art is subjective and cathartic. Killer Therapy is a horror movie that explores sexual and physical abuses, and other failures, perpetuated by the mental health system. I thought the film tackled these issues with seriousness and respect, even though a campy gallows humor weaves itself through the story, but this movie isn’t going to be for everyone.

Imagine introducing someone to Halloween (1978) by saying, “Check this movie out, it’s about a masked killer who breaks out of a mental institute and stalks a babysitter. He kills her two best friends and then goes after her.” It’s accurate, but it’s a dick move because it gives away the third act. Killer Therapy sells itself on its third act, which is a disservice to the film as a whole.

While I think this movie is best seen completely fresh, it would literally leave me with nothing to write about. So allow me to give a few general thoughts before diving into any sort of spoiler territory: I loved it and I’m looking forward to seeing it again and dissecting it. The acting is solid, the script is smart, and the movie’s stuck with me the last few days while I’ve struggled with how to write about it. It’s not by the books at all.

And now what some would consider spoilers but are key elements to the story that’s shown in trailers and marketing material.

Pitch: “What about a horror movie with a final boy instead of a final girl?”
Me: “Cool. It’s been done but we need more of that.”
Pitch: “Sure, but what if the final boy character is ALSO the crazed killer?”
Me: “I guess. I mean that’s a cliché twist ending by now, right?”
Pitch: “But in this, the final boy knows he’s the killer. And so does the audience the whole time. We see the entire journey.”
Me: “Um, okay, little hard to picture. Am I supposed to be on his side? Or is it like an unlikable protagonist? What’s the deal there?”
Pitch: “I guess some viewers will feel sympathetic during certain scenes and be creeped out by him during others.”
Me: “So you’re saying I’ll root for and against the protagonist? Sounds like a conflicting viewing experience.”
Pitch: “You betcha. Welcome to Killer Therapy!”

The movie is just about ninety minutes that’s evenly split into three distinct thirty-minute segments. The first third is a family drama centered on emotionally unstable Brian Langston (played by child actor Jonathan Tysor). The second third is high school melodrama focusing on Brian (now played by newcomer Michael Qeliqi) being bullied, and that final act is a campy slasher. Besides tone, the segments are entirely distinguishable by Brian visibly aging and changing his looks through each new chapter.

For the most part, Brian’s illness is kept vague, although one (of many) therapists, Dr. Lewis (a delightfully intense P.J. Soles, Halloween [1978], Carrie), throws around “bi-polar with sociopathic tendencies and rage” after one meeting. His mother Debbie (Elizabeth Keener, The L Word) is a child therapist who “coddles” Brian, according to his asshole father, John (Thom Matthews, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives). At the start of the film, Debbie and John adopt Aubrey, and Brian is so not having any of it. He stares daggers at the little girl, convinced that he’s being replaced.

Unfortunately, Brian’s parents bring him to a highly recommended therapist, Dr. Keller, who begins sexually molesting him. The abuse is not depicted on screen. It’s conveyed in dialogue and Brian’s body language while he suffers at night reliving the abuse. It is not an easy scene to watch. Jonathan Tysor’s performance is incredibly powerful, and all the more impressive when I watched an interview with the cast and he turned out to be a bubbly, talkative kid with a constant smile.

The abuse isn’t thrown in for shock value. This is what the movie is about. Someone in need goes to a professional for help, but he is victimized instead. There are five therapists in the movie, and each one fails Brian along his journey. That’s not to say mental health professionals are all treated as villains, but they all fail Brian in different ways. Dr. Keller is clearly evil. Dr. Lewis is cold, treating the illness and not the patient. Mrs. Perkins (Adrienne King, Friday the 13th and Friday the 13th Part 2) is a sweet high school guidance counselor. She wants the best for Brian, but she’s ill prepared to deal with the severity of his case, and suggests he keep a journal of his thoughts. That’d be like suggesting Mrs. Voorhees vent her frustrations with a diary. Not gonna happen.

This is the third film Barry Jay’s written, and the second he’s also directed (Elizabeth Keener is in all three), and I was struck watching this at how incredible some of the shot compositions were. When Debbie talks to Brian in his bedroom, Brian is nothing but a silhouette, while Debbie’s features are lit just enough to connect with her. It’s stark and it’s depressing and that’s Brian’s mental state. There’s a real grim beauty in a scene in which Brian confronts his high school bully (Daeg Farch, Halloween [2007]), that ultimately led to a cool blocking moment that I gasped at.

If Barry Jay’s name sounds familiar, he’s known internationally in the fitness world. He grew up in a dysfunctional family and was bullied at school for being gay, and moved to LA in the ’80s to be a songwriter. He struggled with multiple addictions before founding Barry’s Bootcamp in West Hollywood. He took those family issues, that history of addiction, and therapy sessions and channeled that into Killer Therapy’s script. There’s an authenticity in the movie.

Initially, I assumed the casting of Thom Matthews, P.J. Soles, Adrienne King, and Daeg Farch was stunt casting, but none of them feel that way. As a lifelong horror fan, Barry Jay cast actors he liked and wanted to work with, and each is solid in their role. Thom Matthews is the most surprising since I’m only familiar with him as a nice guy and he’s an alcoholic asshole dad here. It’s just fantastic to see Adrienne King return to acting. Alice is one of my favorite final girls and they pay homage to her in a wonderful way.

Troy’s Takeaway: Killer Therapy tackles some weighty issues but there’s a sincerity and fun that kept me mesmerized. I’ve quickly become a Barry Jay fan and I hope he’s already working on his next feature project, and I especially hope that it’s Killer Therapy 2. That said, the subject matter alone means this won’t be everyone’s taste. But if you are interested, Killer Therapy is now available on VOD and DVD.