Starring - Skye Stracke (Zoolander 2, Paper Empire) and Dino Castelli (Zombie Hunters: City of the Dead, Worst Cooks in America)
Release Date - 2020
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Taryn Holmes has just gone viral, now people would KILL to meet her"
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)
Rating (out of 5):
Several years ago I was at work when I heard my phone ding in my pocket. I remember this day fondly. A friend of mine in the horror community had tagged me in the trailer for one of the Ghouligans' episodes on Facebook. I was amazed by what I saw and I couldn't get enough of it. I eventually collected all their releases after I befriended director and creator Sean King. A few days ago I was browsing Instagram when I came across a post from the indie horror short Like Me Deadly looking for reviewers. The artwork, which was done by Sadist Art, pulled me in. I contacted the page and was sent over a link to check it out. It wasn't until I saw Sean's name that I realized it was his short. Thanks Sean for allowing me the opportunity to review your new short!
The film follows social media influencer Taryn (Stracke) who is trying to get to 10 million followers before her rival does. She decides to do a live stream while doing a few unboxings when she opens a strange package that was filled with some sort of gas. She is knocked out for a few minutes and awakens to the door behind her open. Instead of calling the police she decides to live stream the hunt through the house for the mysterious intruder.
I've seen some amazing shorts over the years writing for HS. I tend to like the more outlandish but sometimes I come across some seriously well put together short that works. I had no idea what Like Me Deadly was about but I'll watch anything with a poster from Sadist Art and at the end of the day the short delivered. The acting in this one is great. The film is a one man show so to speak. Skye Stracke is the center of attention for the entire short. Her character is meant to be unlikable. She's superficial and Stracke does a great job at bringing that to life. I'm not bashing Stracke just stating that her character is difficult to like and she did a fantastic job with her performance. The story for this one works for a modern horror tale. For some their appearance on social media is everything which really shows how toxic someone can be wanting to achieve fame. I really liked how this person put her life on the line just to be the first person to reach 10 million followers. It's almost like a satirical approach to the news stories where people die trying to take dangerous selfies. It works but I don't see the story aging well. I have a few slashers that are 10 years old centered around Myspace. Technology advances rather quickly and so does films centered around social media. What's relevant now is not in just a span of a few months. Finally, the short just features one kill but King and company does a fantastic job with this one kill. It's very well done and extremely bloody. Gore hounds may be disappointed but pop horror fans will enjoy the death scene. Overall, Like Me Deadly is a well shot and well acted horror short. I could see this story being turned into a feature length film. Especially if he tackled modern trends like President Chump's tweets, live streaming suicides, and social media influencers that have turned to murder to gain followers. If you get a chance to see Like Me Deadly I highly suggest you do so. It was well worth the 10 minute running time. 
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