GetAWAY is a new horror movie. It might seem familiar in some ways but there is also a wish to bring something new to the table.

While some elements work really well other areas require more work before it hits all marks.

Debuting on December 22, 2020, GetAWAY tells the tale of a group of college students, venturing to the middle-of-nowhere Virginia countryside (i.e., in a very Cabin of the Woods type way) to film a horror short for one student’s final film-class project.

For another student, Maggie (Emma Norville), this weekend adventure is one step closer to her future stardom as an aspiring actress and one step farther from campus to avoid her now ex-boyfriend, Noah (Joshua Cody).

Unfortunately, Noah and his new fling are also part of the film’s production, led by an amazingly high-strung set of film majors (Michael Recchia, Abigail Haggerty, Kristel Rachocki). However, during filming, a second film is being simultaneously recorded by our film’s killer, one featuring the brutal murders of these college students.

Without giving too much away, the reality is that this horror short isn’t the only ongoing project taking place.

Unfortunately, GetAWAY’s underlying theme and primary purpose may go overlooked. Halfway through the film, I wondered, “Is this supposed to be a horror-comedy, albeit a dry one?” Despite a few lines of dialogue that were quite funny, it was not.

In actuality, GetAWAY’s blatant slasher subgenre overpowers its meta-commentary on student film making. In my notes during viewing, I wrote, “A horror movie, that couldn’t figure out how to be a horror movie, about a student horror movie that couldn’t figure itself out.” And also “…this movie is trying to be ‘meta’ but can’t quite stick the landing.”

In fairness, that is exactly what it is.

I was not a film major and I never took a film class. However, now knowing that Weaver is Shenandoah faculty and actors are Shenandoah students, this film, which, on its surface, is both cringeworthy and forgettable, seemingly captures early filmmakers’ struggles.

Essentially, we’re talking everything from the screenplay, direction, crew cohesion, scheduling, and production. All while also enabling the use of the subjectively dire trials and tribulations of college life.

Watch GetAWAY on-demand starting December 22, 2020

Much like Cabin in the Woods, the real story of GetAWAY may be missed, unfortunately, overwhelmed by some overacting and overreliance on the slasher subgenre, lending its rating to 2 stars (maybe even 2.5 stars).

While the latterly noted overreliance may have been purposeful so as to reflect the inevitable disorganization of students’ early films, this theme was overly dramatized.

With a total of 13 kills, 8 of which were far from amateur, had the film been a share wittier or made use of a Marty-Mikalski-type character (cf., Cabin), GetAWAY may have earned a more widely appreciated 3-star rating. One that may be especially appreciated by film majors.

GetAWAY is coming to VOD on December 22, 2020.