F Marry Kill Review: This serial killer comedy is no game

PLOT: As a serial killer targets women on dating apps, a true-crime junkie must figure out which of her three dates is a f-boy, marriage material, or is trying to kill her.

REVIEW: The world of dating apps can be a bit scary, especially for women. You just never know when the person you’re meeting up with is actually a serial killer. It’s an intriguing launching off point for a film, so I’m not surprised to see several horror movies taking advantage of it. I’m not sure I’d quite classify F Marry Kill as a horror movie, but it certainly has elements.

F Marry Kill is really more of a rom com than anything. We follow Eva, post-breakup, as she navigates the world of online dating. She happens to be joining at a bad time, as there’s a “Swipe Right” killer on the loose, taking out women who use the app. But the killer is more of an afterthought as he’s never really shot in a threatening way. Even when we see the deaths, there’s no tension and they just kind of happen. Eva finds herself dating three different guys and you can probably guess where the title comes into play.

The narrative is mostly presented in a whimsical way, with flashy editing as each of Eva’s suitors is investigated. The “F Marry Kill” label is interchanged between Eva’s various dates, with different events happening to put suspicion on one or another. There’s an irritating quality to the dialogue, with most coming out like it’s a standup comic trying to get a laugh. It hardly ever feels natural and comes across as extremely awkward. Even when there’d be some plot development I’d like, there’d be dialogue attached that would just make me cringe. It constantly felt like being talked down to.

I struggled to like Eva as she’s so dismissive of the fact that she’s dating so many different people. She’s dishonest in how she’s going about it and comes across as very vapid. She identifies early that one of the guys is just good for sex, and uses him for such, while still dating others. I get that it was going for a women empowerment angle, and the title needed to come into play, but it just makes her come across as a bit heartless. It’s not Lucy Hale‘s fault, as she does her best to make Eva likeable. The script is just constantly doing her zero favors and doesn’t try to set events in motion in a way that allows for likeable characters.

F Marry Kill is obsessed with being funny. Only one problem: it really isn’t. I think one of the biggest issues I had with the humor is that, this is trying to be relatable yet most of the laughs are at the character’s expense. Take for example a scene where Eva helps Kelly out with some anniversary photos and they result in nothing but terribly awkward looks and faces that all feel overly staged. Or when a side character yells out the film’s title, proving they’re the most obnoxious group in the bar. It’s just really hard to like these people.

I did get a kick out of Eva’s sister Valerie (Brooke Nevin) as her obsession with true crime podcasts felt very apropos for the story. She got some of the only genuine chuckles out of me. Virginia Gardner also has some great scenes, as her Kelly is loyal but out there. It’s funny to see how offended she is at the promiscuity of her friends. As much as F Marry Kill is being marketed as “genre-bending,” the horror is so light, that it’s hard to even consider it adjacent. This is a comedy, yet it’s mostly just characters saying their dialogue loudly to get a reaction. There are some fun performances, but the dialogue constantly undercuts any tension or what it’s actually going for: laughs. I didn’t hate the concept, but there needed to be plenty of care to make Eva likable and that just doesn’t happen. Not even the monologue heavy, Scream-style ending could get me to like this one.

F MARRY KILL RELEASES ON MARCH 6TH, 2025.

F Marry Kill

BELOW AVERAGE

5

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