Rating: C
What do you get when you mix ghosts, a werewolf, a crappy pizza place, and a famous rapper all together? You get Chance The Rappers new film SLICE. This over the top film takes us on a murder mystery where pizza delivery guys keep getting murdered and the town's list of suspects is remarkably short. It can either be the two drug dealers, ghosts, or a shamed werewolf who has recently come back to town. I am not talking about the latest addition to the Holloween Town franchise. this is Chance the Rapper's latest film, from writer/Director Austin Vesely. The movie takes camp to new heights. The movie is dripping with cheese and we aren't talking about the pizza here.
The film has some great ideas and is loaded with tons of characters that could really make this story. The mysterious werewolf, the ghost town next door where actual ghosts live, and what appears to be a cursed pizza place, definitely has the makings of what could have been a surprisingly fun film that many people could enjoy. The problem with Slice, however, is that the story is so rushed you have a hard time caring about any one character and the plot gets really rushed. After watching the trailer, I really wanted to like this movie. It is the time of year that campy horror films are just what the doctor ordered and this had all the makings of a fun movie. Zazie Beetz as Astrid is fantastic and underutilized in the film as is Chance The Rapper himself whose role needed more screen time hands down. The comedic talents of Paul Sheer and Hannibal Buress could have used some additional time as well to add to the plot. Katherine Cunningham (Condor) was great, but she is in the film for such a brief time that her character doesn't really get a chance to make her mark.
Overall, I really wanted more from this movie. It had so much plot potential and was either rushed or edited down to a much lesser film. On a good note, this movie is available on video on demand so you can check it out from the comfort of your couch and make up your own minds about it. Don't expect this one to move mountains, but you could definitely watch worse. We scored this one with a C. Maybe next time around someone can do a story like this right, but this one does fall pretty short of the mark for me.