A nostalgic, comedic and sometimes shocking ride, Shaky Shivers is a tribute to creature features and horror comedy through the ages. This feature film debut, directed by Sung Kang of Fast and the Furious fame, comes with a script penned by Andrew McAllister and Aaron Strongoni, and together the trio serves up laughs and surprises at every turn in this magical, monstrous gem. A film rolled out for “old school horror hounds” to share with those in their lives, this movie is a reflective revisiting of some genre darlings with a hilariously game cast and a director not afraid to shy away from a unique story, all while handing out acknowledgements to familiar favorites. A Screambox Original, this film is streaming now on the Screambox platform for your viewing pleasure with positive reception coming in for this piece from critics and audiences alike. Bringing Goosebumps-like charm and wit to a movie that draws comparisons to the likes of both The Cursed and Booksmart, I think all these references and more cover the whip-crack wit of this film, putting bite into the feminine buddy genre while keeping things creepy and wonderfully campy.
The stage is set in Winlock, Washington, 1993 as a white car slowly rolls through a sign that says “Camp Closed Indefinitely.” The passengers are two young girls, Lucy (Brooke Markham) and Karen (VyVy Nguyen), who find this camp the perfect place to wait for the full moon. It seems a very anxious Lucy has a mysterious bite mark on her arm, and is wondering what’s to become of her. With a bag packed with everything from a cryptid manual from a co-worker to an enormous handgun, the girls seem to be covering the potential werewolf angle from all sides, save forgetting the bullets should be silver.
As the clock begins to wind down Lucy winds up, getting hysterical at the possibilities of the night; Karen remains a sturdy friend at her side. Night finally descends, and the girls rouse from their sleep at a late hour, terrified of the time, with Karen fearfully observing the full moon overhead. Lucy is preparing for a transformation, putting the gun in Karen’s hand with a flashlight to analyze her if she changes, looking for fangs, claws and hair. With nothing happening to Lucy, the girls begin to celebrate the lack of transformation shouting with glee that Lucy isn’t a werewolf, when suddenly a person in a mask jumps up against the side of the car, scaring Karen, still ready with the gun, who fires, killing the prankster. Terrified by the accident, she turns towards crunching and cracking sounds as a roar and horrified scream abruptly end as we cut away.
The film takes us back in time now, to the day before all these events occurred. Another road trip leads us down winding back thoroughfares to a rustic ice cream parlor, where we find Karen and Lucy dealing with a fussy customer named Karen (Skyler Day), obviously. It turns out Karen recognizes Lucy from school, mocking her big dreams as she’s now only working in customer service, and soon recognizing “the other Karen, scary Karen,” from humiliating high school anecdotes. She manages to shake the girls’ tempers by prying at their insecurities until their well-meaning boss Bob (Herschel Sparbar) jumps in and defends them, kindly sending the problematic woman on her way. The girls go about joking about their boss when co-worker Eric (Jimmy Bellinger) pops out to scare them and flirt, so uncomfortably.
The day goes on and Karen makes a concoction she wants to sell called “The Shaky Shiver” which Lucy dismisses immediately, the group breaking down into discussing high school again. As Eric dismisses himself, the girls discuss Lucy’s ideas (which are the pre-cursor to Snuggie and Uber, hilariously) and as Karen is over Lucy’s ideas, Lucy spots a strange woman outside who seems to disappear with speed into nothingness in the dark, reappearing silently moments later in the parlor, stating, “Hungry.” The woman, who offers to pay in pinecones, says she and “others” have been hungry for a long while, and after Lucy ridicules her, offering to spoon-feed her a nut over the counter, the woman begins a spell. Snatching Lucy by the arm with what looks like a toothy hand puppet, she curses her blood to turn black, turning her into a devil wolf, leading us finally back to the camp grounds with enough backstory to fill in our werewolf hijinks.
With references overflowing to older and newer horror icons like Dog Soldiers and Saw, and a storyline that continuously throws freaky, funny curveballs, this is certainly a must-see for genre fans of all ages. Practical effects amp up a fun gore factor of arterial spray, dismembered heads and feasting monsters, all of which come from the brilliant supervision of Gabriel Bartalos; makeup and prosthetic work are equally as impressive at creating monstrosities and victims. Nguyen and Markham have a zany chemistry, and Markham shows great emotional and comedic range, leading the charge of this very fun cast of characters. This story is a unique genre blend that doesn’t take many breaks from the kooky action, and provides lore, humor and confidence in surprising places. If you’re not one to enjoy some camp, though, this might not be the place for you. From a zombie brought back the old-fashioned way, to bigfoot enthusiasts, this film makes sure to pack in as much action and fantasy as possible into its breezy runtime. A throwback to the 80’s and 90’s nostalgia from the music by Timo Chen to the costuming choices, this is an amusing time traveling journey with enough humor and horror to spare.
So, I add my voice to the list of endorsements this film has amassed and say this is a memorable, wild ride worth taking, and you’ll have two fantastic co-pilots leading this unconventional story and Kang’s unflinching vision tells a captivating tale. Fans rejoice, your next horror comedy hit is streaming right now.
Shaky Shivers (2022) is available now on Screambox: for more information, please click here.