WFG RATING: A

Directed by Jamie Langlands. Produced by Jamie Langlands, Rhys Thompson, Craig Munro, John Norris Ray, and Paul Hughbanks. Written by Rhys Thompson. Cinematography by Morgan Andrews. Edited by Cristian Parras.

Stars Owen Llewelyn, Maximus Polling, Jasmine Kheen, Bruno Cryan, Mia Dowd, Callum Chapman, August Porter, Matt Weyland, Jamie Langlands, and James Wingate.

From the director of The Cellar comes this tale of a mysterious killer with a condition and his need to relieve his pain by giving himself a calling card.

In a small town, a young woman, Abigail is slowly being stalked by a mysterious man. When the man approaches her, she is shocked by his appearance. Bald headed with pale white skin and sporting a mouthguard that reads “R.I.P.”. He kills her and extracts a tooth from her as he reveals to have an oral condition. When Abigail’s body is found, DCI Gary Mullen is in charge of the case and is determined to find out who the killer is and why.

Meanwhile, Donnie and his girlfriend Clarissa, and their friends Nikyee and Timmy, are at a bar grieving over Abigail’s death. Abigail’s ex-boyfriend Jaden is questioned but ultimately released. However, while he has been cleared of the charges by the police, the local public make it well known that Jaden is guilty. However, the killer begins to target the group of friends and when the bodies pile up, Mullen discovers a shocking discovery that will change the lives of the remaining survivors forever.

From Jamie Langlands, the director of The Cellar, comes this film that is gearing up to start possibly a new genre franchise and a new killer in the midst. We’ve had Freddy, Jason, Leatherface, Pinhead, Chucky, the Leprechaun, the Tooth Fairy, and others. However, horror fans will now get ready to meet the titular R.I.P. Man and his name is Alden Pick.

Owen Llewelyn is great in the titular role. What’s very interesting is the condition Alden suffers from, and it is the trigger for his eventual descent into madness, despair, and death. The condition is inspired by anodontia, in which one has no teeth since birth.  Llewelyn’s Pick looks like Nosferatu without the teeth but replaced with a mouthguard that reads “R.I.P.”, and his calling card is after killing his victims, extracting a tooth from his victims.

Matt Weyland is great as DCI Mullen, who oversees the case. The director himself plays Mullen’s partner as they search for clues. What Langlands along with writer Rhys Thompson is switch between the killer, the group of friends, and the police. And while the first half focuses on Pick killing off members of the group of friends, the second half begins to slowly intertwine with the police work with a major twist coming in just after an hour, and it is jaw-dropping. And be ready because there is a sequel in development!

The R.I.P. Man is a really great horror narrative that could just be the beginning of the franchise because Alden Pick is one intimidating killer and is perfectly cast. Seeing the film is giving me hope that we will get a sequel!

The film will debut on January 5 on Digital in the UK and on Demand on January 12 in the USA. Pre-order the film here.