WATCH: A gay teen has to save the jocks from a slasher in this wicked horror-comedy

Senioritis can be a real killer.

The wicked new horror-comedy Departing Seniors takes audiences back to a time and a place that’s probably a hazy memory to most of us: The halls of high school, in those waning days before the end of our senior year.

It’s here that we meet Javier (Primo‘s Ignacio Diaz-Silverio), a queer Mexican-American teen who’s always felt like an outsider at school and, with just a short time to go ’til graduation, is ready to leave it all behind.

How about we take this to the next level?

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Well, except for his bestie Bianca (Candyman‘s Ireon Roach) and his sympathetic teacher Mr. Arda (The Lizzie McGuire Movie‘s Yani Gellman), and star athlete Brad (Perpetrator‘s Sasha Kuznetsov) who he’s in a secret relationship—so secret, in fact, that not even Bianca knows.

Other than those three, he never needs to see any of his classmates again—certainly not snooty class president Ginny (Maisie Merlock), or the rest of the hot jocks… no matter how hot they are.

But when a run-in with bullies sends Javier tumbling down the stairs, he wakes up in the hospital and discovers he has a strange new power: The ability to touch people or things and suddenly have visions of the future and the past (it’s called “psychometry,” as Bianca tells him).

Now, that alone sounds like a juicy enough plot device to bolster an entire movie—especially one about a senior who’s so eager for the rest of his life to begin.

But Departing Seniors still has another trick up its sleeve: It’s actually a slasher, too!

When a creepy theater-masked killer starts picking off Javier’s fellow seniors, one by one, he realizes that using his new psychic ability may be the only way to save them. Of course, if any of Javier’s high school tormentors are actually worth saving is another question entirely…

The feature film debut of writer Jose Nateras and director Clare Cooney, the indie Departing Seniors is a thrilling genre mash-up packed with emerging on-screen talent, witty pop culture references, and plenty of bloody-good shocks that fans horror fans will love.

And the fact that it’s centered on a gay, Latino high schooler makes it all the more exciting—how often to we get to see characters like Javier take the reins in a horror and try to save the day?

After playing at film festivals last fall, Departing Seniors will open in a limited theatrical run and be made available on digital VOD platforms February 2, via Dark Sky films.

You can watch the official trailer for the film below:

Related:

No hack jobs: 10 queer slasher movies that are good for a scare—or a laugh

Don’t pick up the phone, don’t answer the door, and—whatever you do—don’t turn off the TV… because there are plenty of queer slasher movies to watch!