The Killgrin – Movie Review (3/5)

THE KILLGRIN is a psychological creature feature that turned out to be much better than I expected. Not your typical genre movie, but it’s a powerful horror story about depression and the power of grief. Read our full The Killgrin movie review here!

THE KILLGRIN is a horror movie with lots of practical effects and a story about the power of the mind. Describing it as a psychological creature feature feels very appropriate. Not least thanks to the use of the aforementioned practical effects. There’s CGI there as well, which I could’ve done without.

Overall, this movie was much better than I expected. Even the runtime of just 83 minutes suited the story exceptionally well. While I can’t claim to know many of the actors in this, they all managed to give very powerful portrayals of people struggling with grief.

Continue reading our The Killgrin movie review below. Find it in select theaters and on Digital from April 25, 2025.

Trapped in a living nightmare of grief

In The Killgrin, we meet Miranda just as her life is about to change forever. The opening scene features a tragedy that will shape her immediate future. After this very personal tragedy, Miranda joins a grief group to help her move on.

However, it feels to her like her struggle is more than “just” grief. It feels more like a physical manifestation than simply a matter of mental health. This is confirmed when she explores unconventional self-help methods.

A spiritual healer tells her that she has been infected, or rather her aura has been infected, by a “Killgrin”. This infection thrives on her misery and is essentially a parasite that has attached itself to her. She’s trapped in a living nightmare of grief – and the creature likes it that way.

To be fair, Miranda doesn’t believe this “diagnosis”, but the spiritual healer knows her stuff and calmly states that she knows Miranda will be back. And she’s right, which is all I’ll say about this plot. You need to experience the rest firsthand.

If you enjoyed Smile, get to know The Killgrin

This isn’t a typical genre movie in most ways. The psychological horror takes precedence for a long time, but that Killgrin creature is always there as well. The name “Kill Grin” is quite literal, as indicated by the tagline of the movie: Bare Your Teeth.

Think Smile, but your smile has been turned upside down into a frown. That’s the mark of the Killgrin as it pulls apart its victims, and it should appeal to fans of the Smile movies. As long as you’re ready for a darker psychological plot tied into grief processing.

While I loved all the practical effects of The Killgrin, and especially the actual creature, the CGI didn’t do much for me. I feel like more shadow-play could’ve had the same effect, and then the CGI wouldn’t have distracted as much as it did.

Having said that, the actual CGI is minor, and the practical effects are very much at the forefront. Also, teeth are a big part of this horror story, which is always strangely efficient. Especially finding teeth. This tends to indicate that something violent and terrible has happened.

Watch The Killgrin on Digital or in Select Theaters

Joanna Tsanis is the writer and director of The Killgrin, and I am very impressed with the overall result. The storytelling is intense, and the pace is tight. Sure, I wasn’t crazy about some of the CGI as it made it less scary and not as intense momentarily.

Joanna Tsanis previously (and following this project) directed on the series Bloody Bites. She also directed several short films, including one titled Smile and another titled Mourn. Both were also written by Joanna Tsanis, and reading their plots, they seem related to this feature film.

The star of The Killgrin is Konstantina Mantelos (Anything for Jackson), who shines as Miranda. Well, “shines” might be the wrong description for this character, but Konstantina Mantelos is amazing.

So is the supporting cast, where I have to highlight Adam Tsekhman (The Night Agent), Fuad Ahmed (Painkiller), Ramona Milano (The Threat Next Door), Cristo Fernández (Ted Lasso, Venom: The Last Dance), and Lynne Griffin (Thanksgiving).

If we did half ratings here at Heaven of Horror, The Killgrin would be at 3½ out of 5, so this is a definite recommendation to check it out.

The Killgrin is out In Select Theaters & on Digital April 25, 2025.

Details

Director: Joanna Tsanis
Writer: Joanna Tsanis
Cast: Konstantina Mantelos, Cristo Fernández, Adam Tsekhman, Ramona Milano, Peter MacNeill, Gillian Fortin, Matt Murray, Lynne Griffin