SUSIE Q, WHERE ARE YOU! (2023)

Short Film Review

THE PREMISE:

"In the spooky town of Waterville, Ohio. A group of friends go looking for the missing high school sweetheart, Susie Q. While they may be looking in the right place, all they might find is a swamp of trouble."

OUR MOVIE REVIEW:

Susie Q, Where Are You! can best be described as part parody and part satire inspired by the iconic, Scooby-Doo Where Are You! legacy. While simultaneously offering beats from horror of the 70s/80s with its visuals, musical cues, and stabbing humor. 

Director Jake Kopronica, has a fantastic eye for “the golden age” of horror. While recreating the visual strengths of titles, such as the earlier Friday the 13th films’ simplicity. Kopronica, and co-scribe Celeste Blandon, offer a delightful “mystery” that never quite gets the solution we’re expecting. 

Through the perspective of a slasher, the film’s cast: Noelle Taylor, Jackson Medley, Celeste Blandon, and Jake Kopronica all fulfill the roles of potential victims, we would come accustomed to seeing perish by the likes of Jason Voorhees. As the story progresses, we see that Taylor is wonderfully ignorant. Meanwhile, Blandon and Kopronica play as characters who would typically be the first to get offed in a generic horror, and Medley is easily the Fred Jones of the pack. 

While I don’t think it's a perfect take on Scooby-Doo or the Friday the 13th franchise, I do find the mixture of themes unique. At a brisk 16 minute run, the short is quick-witted, perfectly “spooky” fun, and a sharp piece of filmmaking for those that grew up with Scoob (exempt here) and the gang, or happen to be missing the atmospheric backdrop of a classic camp slasher.