The Weird Kidz

Director - Zach Passero (Wicked Lake, Quantum Entanglement)

Starring - Glenn Bolton, Brian Ceely (Paranoid Flux, Terror of the Flames), and Tess Passero (Motel, Glimpse)

Release Date - 2022

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Campfires.  Creatures.  Puberty.  Ritual Sacrifice.  It's going to be a long night for..."

Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I love watching and reviewing movies. It’s a huge stress reliever and creative outlet to watch a movie and take the time to talk about what I liked, what I didn’t like, and whatever else I want to talk about. Some movies really excite me and I can’t wait to talk about while others just suck the enthusiasm out of me. One movie that I’ve been extremely excited about talking about after receiving the first press release is the animated horror film The Weird Kidz. This Lucky McKee produced hand drawn animated film caught my eye a few weeks back and I was quick to request a screener link. I’m glad I did because this was the perfect movie for my October horror binge. 

      The film follows a group of youths who are going camping for the weekend with the older brother of one of them and his girlfriend. On the way they stop for snacks and steal some beer when the clerk tells one of them about a carnivorous creature that the locals call the Night Child. He tries to tell the others about the tale but they brush it off. However, that night he is taken by the creature and the rest soon find themselves on the run from the beast. They soon learn that the entire town is part of a cult that routinely sacrifice to the creature. 

      The Weird Kidz was everything I had hoped it was and then some. It was a fun animated horror film that takes a fun, and cliched filled story, and gives it to us in gory detail. I know it took eight years for this one to get made but I fucking pray that we get follow up a hell of a lot sooner than eight years because I absolutely loved this. The voice acting in this one grows on you. At first it felt a little awkward and uneven with the animation but as the film moves on you find yourself falling in love with the characters and the voices associated with them. We also have May star Angela Bettis voicing a character which I absolutely loved. The story for this one brings us so many horror clichés that I fucking love. We have teens camping, nudity, humor, giant creatures, cults, dirty small town cops, and plenty of gore. It slowly builds giving us all the horror tropes we love before coming to a delightful explosion of animated chaos. The humor didn’t always find it’s mark with me but the actually story fucking pulled me in. It has everything horror fans love with the exception of zombies and slashers which I’m sure could be a possible sequel. Finally, the animated style, much like the voice acting, took a minute to grow on me but I eventually learned to love it. It fit the film very well and I loved how far they went with the blood and gore. Overall, The Weird Kidz is a must see for genre fans. It’s Stranger Things by way of Adult Swim and I fucking loved it. I can’t recommend this one enough.