‘KILL HER GOATS’ (2023) Review – Gore, Girls, and Goats

Kill Her Goats is a slow-burn home invasion film that takes place in the fictional town of West Craven, Cape Cod. The same setting as Muck! Steve Wolsh (read our interview here) wrote and directed the film. It stars Arielle Raycene, Ellie Gonsalves (Guess model and Wildlife Warriors ambassador), Monica Sims (Playboy playmate Ms. September 2015), Danielle Mathers (2015 Playmate of the year, and Kane Hodder (I don’t feel like he needs an introduction, but Jason Voorhees, Victor Crowley).

Kill Her Goats opens with a brutal and titillating callback to 80s Slasher films. Kane Hodder proves he absolutely still has it in him to be one of the most brutal cinematic killers. Seeing Kane do his thing, armed with one of the coolest weapons I’ve seen in a horror movie and complemented with 100% practical effects and no CGI, was love at first sight for me.

Afterward, we are treated with beautiful sweeping shots of Cape Cod that could give the Cape Cod tourism board a run for its money. We are introduced to our equally beautiful cast with a shift to fun, upbeat music. The dramatic contrast was effective rather than jarring. It doesn’t take long to pick up on the film’s unique charm sprinkled with humor as Audra (Raycene) gives us a tour of the house and property where most of the film takes place. It balances her quirky humor with POV shots from an unseen watcher accompanied by a tension-building, yet subtle score, creating an odd mix of innocence and danger.

Once our main cast meets up for a sleepover, the pacing does stutter a bit. The characters just don’t have a lot of interesting things to do. It feels like it’s just stalling for time until Kane Hodder returns to the screen. That’s not to say it’s bad. There is some humor sprinkled in. The cast has solid chemistry, and, for any Muck fans, there are several callbacks to that film.

Things get better as the POV shots are brought back by our unseen watcher. The film sets up numerous horror tropes that provide the perfect opportunity for the killer to strike. Most of the time, these setups are unfulfilled, leaving a mounting tension as you wonder when the next victim will be claimed. Since we have a smaller cast, there isn’t any room for kills to pad the body count. This adds gravitas to the danger.

 

I felt like I was watching something that could have been along the lines of a Friday the 13th film from the 80s but shot in modern 4k. Kane Hodder directly channels Jason in a few scenes. There’s also a twist that isn’t clearly shown in the trailers. I won’t spoil it! The kills are great and the weapons used are contenders for some of the best in horror. There are a few times the practical effects do show their limitations, but I prefer that over even the best CGI any day of the week when it comes to horror.

 

Final Thoughts

Kill Her Goats isn’t perfect, but it’s a fun ride with plenty of gore, fan service, and goats. Its unique setting is used to the fullest as the film is beautifully shot and complemented by a great score and soundtrack. The acting is nothing to write home about, but there is some solid line delivery.

Aside from the pacing, arguably the biggest faults are two things that happen in the film that are quite confusing. I think one is a connection to Muck and may be explained more as the shared horror universe opens up more. The other is a strange shift in direction. After watching it twice to see if I missed the cause, it’s still just jarring and confusing.

Overall Kill Her Goats is a fun ride that will scratch that itch that seldom gets scratched anymore of just being a fun, brutal slasher film that will make you feel like you’re watching one of the classics from the 80s.

To watch the trailer on YouTube click Here!