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Film: The R.I.P Man
Year: 2025
Director: Jamie Langlands
Writers: Jamie Langlands and Rhys Thompson
Starring: Owen Llewelyn, Maximus Polling and Jasmine Kheen
Review:
This was a film that I first learned about when my buddy Aaron interviewed the filmmaking team. One of the writers, Rhys Thompson, reached out after sharing that video and inquired if I’d be interested in watching for review. I like to check out independent cinema and help share when I can so I agreed. I did realize that this looks to be a 2026 horror release which helps for my end of year list as well.
Synopsis: a serial killer with a rare oral condition begins to target young adults and removes a single tooth from each victim. Can a family's kept secret unfold the truth and help prevent the murders from continuing?
We start this by seeing Abigail Freight (August Porter). She is getting ready for bed when she gets a text message from an unknown number. She’s then attacked. The person has no hair and what we’ll learn is no teeth either. He is violent and uses a drill to kill her.
Now she was seeing Jaden Miller (Bruno Cryan). He now is the prime suspect because of it, even though the evidence isn’t there. Jaden and Abigail were part of a friend group that is made up of Donnie Slattery (Maximus Polling), who is seeing Clarissa Staunton (Jasmine Kheen). There is also Niykee Degg (Mia Bowd) and Timmy Beckwidth (Callum Chapman). They all go out and Jaden joins them. We see him getting side looks.
They all head to their separate homes when Timmy is drawn to a noise in an alleyway. He finds a toy of chattering teeth, much like what Abigail found before she was killed. Timmy goes down the steps and he’s the next victim. The detective in charge is Gary Mullen (Matt Weyland). There isn’t much information to go on, aside from the toy that was at both the crime scenes and the victims missing a tooth. The next connection is the fact that this friend group is targeted.
Much like the synopsis said, there are family secrets that get revealed and the deeper people dive, the more they learn about Alden Pick (Owen Llewelyn). These secrets need to come to light in order to stop him before it is too late.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I’m going to start then is that this is a slasher film. Not my favorite genre anymore, but when they’re well done, I tend to enjoy them. This film had a solid poster that intrigued me. The one I saw, he was holding a drill and looking menacing. There’s another I saw that I didn’t like as well. Regardless, I was committed to checking this out.
Where I’ll then start is that for me, slashers either need to have good kills or characters. I’ll start with the latter. This does fall a bit short there. What I’ll credit is that I know who the characters of the group are. That is really all I need for a slasher film. I knew who the couple was, there was the guy in the group who seemed a bit like a womanizer, there was the other friend and then the suspect. This last character feels inspired a bit by gialli since he’s trying to figure out who the killer is. The group works well enough in this.
Let’s then shift over to our killer. We know what he looks like from the opening sequence. The mystery is learning more about this back-story and why he’s doing the killings as well as trying to stop him. I do like that we learn that he has this peculiar oral affliction where he doesn’t have teeth. The gimmick works where he’s obsessed with this and steals a tooth from his victims. I even like the allusion to this cult that the detectives discover. It ultimately doesn’t amount to much. Alden looks angry, but my problem is that he looks like Uncle Fester, so it made it chuckle.
The story features body horror, as Alden steals teeth, reflecting a theme of becoming "whole" due to his affliction. Other themes include the burden of hidden pasts. Alden's adopted father provides information to the detective, though later reveals lacked impact. I liked the reference to the fictional 'Dentes Clan' which Alden emulates. Institutional failure is also present, as Alden escapes a mental hospital with no one pursuing his return, suggesting he slipped through the cracks.
There’s one last story element which might be an issue with the writing. This group of friends has a friend murdered. Outside of Jaden, no one truly seems to care. The same for their classmates. Then as the more members of their group are killed, we never see that fear grow. Unless this is an intentional thing, showing the disconnect, I do think it is lacking a bit.
That should be enough for the story so let’s go over to the acting performances. As an amateur film, criticism will be gentle. Llewelyn is effective as the eerie, stoic killer who dismembers victims. Polling and Cryan work well as the leads, though the focus shifts between them. Kheen is attractive but underutilized. Bowd and Chapman complete their group. Porter's death sets the tone well. Weyland and the rest of the cast fulfill their roles adequately.
All that is left then would be filmmaking aspects. The film is generally well-made, with good cinematography hiding the effects' shortcomings and capturing the setting. The blood and aftermath of the kills looked good, and avoiding showing them was a smart move given likely budget limitations, though I would have preferred to see more. The sound and music were adequate. However, the lack of stakes meant the film struggled to keep my attention.
In conclusion, this offers a decent slasher experience from the independent cinema scene. While the film struggles with character depth and maintaining a consistent sense of stakes among the targeted friend group, it succeeds in creating a compelling villain with a unique, unsettling gimmick surrounding his oral affliction and tooth-stealing obsession. The technical aspects, including the cinematography and effective use of blood effects, help mask budget constraints. It's a film that leans into its body horror elements and works well enough as a genre piece, but ultimately, it lacks the necessary tension to truly stand out. If you are looking for a new independent horror film with an interesting premise and solid performances from the leads, this is worth checking out when it releases.
My Rating: 4 out of 10