The Editor Horror Movie Review

I love when a horror movie doesn’t take itself too seriously. When it is combined to an Italian-style, murder-solving, 70s-looking extravaganza, you know you’ll be in for a riot. “The Editor” is just this riot as it made its Quebec premiere at the 2015 edition of Fantasia International Film Festival.

Rey Ciso (Adam Brooks; “Father’s Day”; “Manborg”) is a film editor who used to be highly touted until a film-cutting accident left him with 4 less fingers. He is now editing a film while tutoring a young, beautiful protégé. In the midst of the movie’s shooting, murders begin to occur left and right, killing off actors from the cast. While everyone and anyone is a suspect, detective Porfiry (Matthew Kennedy; also from “Father’s Day” & “Manborg”) is convinced that Ciso is the perpetrator responsible for these horrific crimes, as the victims are always found with 4 fingers cut off. But who is committing all these murders, and under which motive?

You’ll fall in love with “The Editor” for its tounge-in-cheek humor splattered all over its crime-mystery story. Plenty of ridiculous, unnecessary nudity (even random naked women stretching in the background while a discussion is happening on-camera); hilarious special effects; a woman who goes blind from having witnessed traumatic events; and quick close-ups and zoom-ins of actors’ facial expressions that were meant to look absurd are on the menu. So many clichés of 70s crime movies are at hand, and you’ll love every minute of it.

The actors play an important role in the desired cheesiness of “The Editor”. Adam Brooks is superb as the troubled film editor who is having memory problems, perhaps thinking he’s losing his mind in addition to having a troubled relationship with his wife (Paz de la Huerta; “Nurse 3D; “A Walk to Remember”; “Enter the Void”). Matthew Kennedy interprets the determined and always suspicious detective, determined on solving this case. Speaking of actors, did I mention that Udo Keir (“Iron Sky; “Blade”) and Laurence R. Harvey (“The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence”; “The Human Centipede 3: Final Sequence”) play cameos in the movie? Now I have, and they only add to the “pretending-to-be-serious-but-definitely-comical” cast.

After a while, some viewers may find the absurd humor quite redundant. I admit that at a certain point in the movie, I began to wonder if the film would have a cliché finale, just like the numerous clichés scattered throughout the motion picture. The ending, however, is different than expected and will probably have you continue with your laughter.

You’ll be impressed at what this Canadian film brings to the table, allowing “The Editor” to deserve a rating of 4 stars out of 5.