Movie Review: Slice

Chance the Rapper made his debut appearance on film on Sept. 10 by starring in the recently released comedy/horror Slice, produced by A24. Chance plays the titular character, Dax Lycander, a Chinese food delivery boy who also happens to be a werewolf. This movie is set in the town Kingfisher, with a population of 90,000 people. 40,000 of those people also happen to be ghosts.

The town of Kingfisher is no stranger to the supernatural with ghosts, witches and humans coexisting, but when a pizza delivery driver is mysteriously killed, it’s up to his girlfriend, Astrid, who is played by Atlanta star Zazie Beetz, to find the killer. Throw in a werewolf as the main suspect, an inspired journalist, a detective who hates werewolves and a completely incompetent pizza restaurant, this movie could be the R-rated Halloweentown you’ve always asked for.

Slice does a good job of using an extremely popular plot while still giving the audience a somewhat original story. It’s still your typical revenge film, but the October themed characters help ease the familiarity of the overdone plot. It’s predictable, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously, which works in favor of the film. The horror aspect of this movie only really appears at the beginning sequence; everything after that is off-the-wall comedy.

The acting in the film isn’t amazing, with some of the actors being Nicolas Cage levels of intense in scenes that don’t need it and some scenes falling flat because of lackluster performances. However, just about every character does have their own personality and charm. Chance’s performance is surprisingly good. His real-life, carefree nature shines through Dax as a werewolf who doesn’t want to be bothered and only wants to be a delivery boy.

There is a lot of humor constantly being thrown at the audience. Death is even presented comically, which a lot of movies aren’t able to do. The humor is campy and quick, often being shown through scenarios and quick comments made by the actors, rather than jokes with a punchline.

Slice is overall a good movie that is destined to be a cult classic. Whether you’re watching it for Chance the Rapper or for it’s comedic and exaggerated story, it’s a great movie to watch with friends. With October coming up, this movie may be just the thing to get the Halloween mindset started.