Freaky and Happy Death Day are great recent examples of horror films that balance out the kills with a knowing wink. Totally Killer is definitely in the same vein.
I love the Halloween films, which are a more straightforward slasher type deal. Films like Hereditary are impressive, but freak me out far too much. Then there are the more gore orientated films, which have a tendency to make me squirm too much. So there’s a middle ground that I enjoy, and a high concept story that fits in slasher elements fits there nicely.
The main crux of the jokes is the juxtaposition of placing a modern teenager in the 80s. Everyone’s smoking, or fat shaming, or touching each other. There’s no security on information and they don’t even know how to use DNA! Looking at it in this way, it’s a miracle any of us are even here, and it is amusing, even if it’s superficial.
Like the other films I mentioned, you’ve got to buy into the conceit, so a time machine built by a teenager is fine. No one in the film seems that surprised by it! I don’t think Totally Killer hits quite the same heights as the others, mainly due to it’s kills being pretty average. I didn’t suss out the killer, though that’s not a high bar for a film to clear. A detective I am not.
I’m glad there are films like this. It’s not going to change any lives but it’s a welcome injection of fun into the horror genre.
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