Frightfest 2023: ‘Weird Kidz’ Review
Features the voices of: Tess Passero, Sydney Wharton, Angela Bettis, Sean Bridgers, Ellar Coltrane | Written and Directed by Zach Passero
If ever there was a movie you could not blame for false advertising, it would be Weird Kidz. Having just finished this feature-length animation about… Well… Christ knows what it is really about but I will persevere and try to break down this South Park-esque hand-drawn slightly horror but mostly Big Mouth-y comedy coming-of-age story.
Before we do get into this though, a quick word on the hand-drawn aspect. I thought this really cool, especially considering it is rare to find an animated film these days that isn’t Disney, Illumination or the like. It’s always nice to see a group of creators willing to look backwards in the art. I mean that with all respect because it put this viewer in mind of the old-school animated flicks that knew the vibe and nailed it accordingly.
Dug (Tess Passero) and his nerdy, video-game-loving mates are all a bit horned up on account of hitting puberty. We find Dug and his mates at the Arcade waiting for Dug’s older brother, Wyatt (Ellar Coltrane) a beer-drinking self-proclaimed frontman in his band of one. When Wyatt arrives he has Mary (Sydney Wharton) in tow. His kind of sort of girlfriend maybe..?!
Off we go on the camping trip of all their young dreams with the world at their feet. After stopping for supplies at a gas station. A cashier regales Dug with the myth of a mysterious creature called the “Night Child” that eats tourists in the desert. Dug is pretty unfazed by this story and chalks it down to an urban campfire story, as they continue on to their campsite. Once there though things begin to get a tad spooky as the night goes on and our band of misfits begin to wonder if the story is more than just a story.
Where to begin? Truly this film has more going for it than it does against it. Once you come to terms with the animation style I think you will get into the movie and appreciate it for the old-school horny boy coming-of-age horror tale it is trying to be. That is where this movie is given time to breathe and really lives. The relationships formed between our horny little buggers, Wyatt and Mary are pretty funny and put you in mind of the relationships built in movies like Stand By Me or that ilk.
I wasn’t a huge lover of the actual story if I’m honest as it just goes from silly to bonkers to outright insane. While I was enjoying the dialogue and the voice performances for the most part, the last third of the movie ramps up the madcap antics with crazy out-there creepy characters.
Weird Kidz is definitely worth your time and is written in such a way that our main characters are super relatable (not sure what that says about me) and often manages to remind us of those awkward cringe moments when growing up. Do I think you will watch it more than once? Probably not no, it does feel like a one-and-done for me. but for that 90-odd minutes or so you will be entertained.
*** 3/5
Weird Kidz screened as part of this year’s Frightfest London.
