Scene 2 Seen Podcast: ‘Totally Killer’ Director Nahnatchka Khan Talks About Her Favorite Horror Films And Working With Kiernan Shipka

Hello, and welcome to the Scene 2 Seen Podcast. I am Valerie Complex Associate editor and film writer at Deadline!

Now I’ve been off and on for a while, personal tragedies, the actors and writer strike, other work projects held me back for a bit, but I am back with a whole new lineup of guests. Today I am chatting with director Nahnatchka Khan about her latest horror slasher film Totally Killer. It debuted on Prime Video on October 6, and stars Kiernan Shipka, Olivia Holt, Julie Bowen and Randall Park.

Written by David Matalon, Sasha Perl-Raver and Jen D’Angelo, Totally Killer follows the shocking murder of three teens, as the infamous “Sweet Sixteen Killer“ returns on Halloween night to claim a fourth victim. Jamie (Shipka) ignores her overprotective mom’s (Bowen) warning and comes face to face with the masked maniac and while running for her life, accidentally time travels back to 1987, the year of the original killings. Forced to navigate the unfamiliar and outrageous culture of the ’80s, Jamie teams up with her teen mom (Holt) to take down the killer once and for all before she’s stuck in the past forever.

Blumhouse thought Khan was the best candidate for a story like this as she’s known for some of the most innovative works in comedy including Fresh Off the Boat, Don’t Trust The B* In Apartment 23, Young Rock and Always Be My Maybe. Khan is the founder of her film and TV production company Fierce Baby, which focuses on amplifying new voices and perspectives in both comedy and drama. 

Khan has a multiyear first-look feature deal with Netflix and has several projects in development to direct and produce for the streamer, including the romantic comedy Dial A For Aunties, based on Jesse Q. Sutanto’s anticipated upcoming novel of the same name. Khan also has an exclusive overall deal with Universal Television to create, develop, write, supervise and produce series projects for television. 

On today’s episode, Khan and I discuss how she visually merged time travel and horror in Totally Killer. We also talk about our favorite horror movies, and why the 1980s is such a memorable decade in all things fashion and film.

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