F Marry Kill
March 13th, 2025
MOVIE: F MARRY KILL
STARRING: LUCY HALE, VIRGINIA GARDNER, BROOKE NEVIN, SAMER SALEM
DIRECTED BY: LAURA MURPHY
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 1 ½ STARS
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 97 MINUTES
At first glance, the title F Marry Kill seems to hold great promise for the slasher genre, especially with horror fans eagerly devouring what the genre has to offer. Films like Heart Eyes, the Valentine’s Day slasher, and Companion, a surprise hit, have recently found success. Unfortunately, F Marry Kill—with its intriguing title—turns out to be the weakest of the bunch. Laura Murphy’s film attempts to blend romantic comedy with a slasher flick but fails at all three. If you gave me three movies to choose from, F Marry Kill would be the one I’d likely “kill.”
The lead character, Eva (played by Lucy Hale), has just turned 30 and is still reeling from the betrayal of her ex-boyfriend, who cheated on her. Now, she’s considering dipping her toes back into the dating pool. As many do, Eva’s friend Robin (Bethany Brown) convinces her to try dating apps, despite the risk of the “Swipe Right Killer,” a serial killer targeting women met through the apps. Even with the overprotective advice of her sister Valerie (Brooke Nevin), Eva becomes intrigued by the apps—often listening to her favorite true crime podcast—hoping to both enjoy dating and potentially unmask the killer in the process.
There’s so much wrong with F Marry Kill that it’s hard to know where to begin. The screenplay, written by Ivan Diaz, Dan Scheinkman, and Meghan Brown, is painfully mundane. The plot revolves around Eva’s various dates with Norman (Samer Salem), Kyle (Jedidiah Goodacre), and Mitch (Brendan Morgan), each providing clues as to whether they could be the killer. Meanwhile, Hale’s character behaves in such an unrealistic, idiotic way that it feels like the plot only progresses because the character is written that way.
The entire premise falls apart from the start. Murphy seems to attempt to cover up the film’s budget constraints and script issues with on-screen graphics, montages of potential suitors for Eva, and a lead performance that feels like it has undiagnosed ADD, which only left me feeling anxious. Hale, too, feels disconnected, playing this role like many of the rom-coms she’s starred in before, making it hard to believe that someone as beautiful as her would waste time with men who can’t go a minute without acting completely unhinged. By the time the third act rolls around, revealing the killer, the audience will have either figured it out already or completely lost interest.
In the end, F Marry Kill proves to be a missed opportunity. What could have been a fun, horror-comedy hybrid is instead a mindless, direct-to-streaming time-waster. Hale brings energy and charm to the role, but I’m still waiting to see her in a film that truly challenges her as an actress. Perhaps I placed too much weight on a movie titled F Marry Kill.
1 ½ STARS
F MARRY KILL IS PLAYING IN THEATERS NOW AND AVAILABLE TO RENT ON DEMAND FRIDAY MARCH 14TH, 2025.
Written by: Leo Brady
