TIFF18 Review “Assassination Nation”

Take any of your favourite teenage comedies from your youth and mix it with The Purge and you’ll get Assassination Nation. 

The newest film from writer/director Sam Levinson, in which high school student Lily (Odessa Young) living in the fictional town of Salem (very on the nose reference) deals with chaos and madness when residents’ secrets are exposed through social media hacks.

It first starts with the town’s mayor and then the beloved school principal (Colman Domingo, who is also fantastic in TIFF selection If Beale Street Could Talk). Eventually everyone’s secrets are being exposed that the town begins looking for the perpetrator. Lily and her friends Sarah (Suki Waterhouse), Bex (Hari Nef), and Em (Abra) end up being the scapegoats for the hack and all hell breaks loose. The girls need to take action and fast before the town looks to get revenge on who they believe is responsible for their leaked secrets.

While the movie starts a bit slow, once it reaches the night of horrors for the characters, the action heats up. The final 30 minutes keep you on the edge of your seat and give a new definition to girl power. The movie also features a killer score and soundtrack and makes sure you stick around for the end credits to hear a very unique cover of Miley Cyrus’ ‘We Can’t Stop.’

Elevation Pictures releases Assassination Nation on Friday, September 21, 2018