Blu-ray Review – Jitters (2026)

      **Jitters, 2026**

      Directed by Marc Zammit.

      Starring Fabrizio Santino, Anto Sharp, Jessica Impiazzi, Boo Miller, Ritchi Edwards, Lauren Budd, Adrian Derrick-Palmer, and Daniel Jordan.

      **SYNOPSIS:**

      Detective Collymore, a single divorced father, comes across a puzzling case regarding the death of Tiffany, initially thought to be natural. As he investigates further, he uncovers the chilling truth behind Jitters.

      At first glance, one might mistakenly think Jitters is just another slasher film centered around clowns, but that's not the case. Despite the striking Blu-ray cover art featuring the menacing clown, Jitters is fundamentally a police procedural. Detective Nick Collymore (Fabrizio Santino) is tasked with investigating the death of a young woman named Tiffany (Jessica Impiazzi), who was found dead in her apartment wearing a gaming headset, with no apparent signs of injury or foul play.

      As Collymore digs into the online gaming scene, he learns that Tiffany was trying out a new AI gaming platform. He also finds that a colleague from the tech firm Timebomb, where she worked, was engaged in these online games just before committing suicide on camera with a nail gun. As Collymore, who has a teenage daughter that enjoys online gaming, uncovers the projects at Timebomb, the name "Jitters" repeatedly surfaces. Not only is it the name of the game, but also the main character—a psychotic clown whose goal is to drive gamers insane, although he’s merely an AI and not real, right?

      More a tech-focused psychological thriller than a straightforward horror film, Jitters shares similarities with The Lawnmower Man more than with Terrifier, although it does take some cues from Saw and Ringu due to its enigmatic setup. The audience learns parallel to Detective Collymore, allowing for a sense of surprise as the story unfolds.

      However, "unravel" is a fitting term here, as Jitters struggles to maintain coherence throughout its 94-minute duration, mainly because of the titular villain. The concept of a killer clown existing in a virtual realm is quite original, yet there are no explanations for his motives or goals, making his moments feel disjointed. Portrayed by Daniel Jordan, his performance is not the issue; rather, the character seems more suited to a different film, as the writing offers little more than dull exposition from the clown, with only Jordan’s exaggerated performance providing any semblance of personality.

      The same cannot be said for the other characters. Detective Collymore is a rather cliché archetype—he's divorced, has a teenage daughter he sees infrequently, is not particularly fond of technology, and has a persistent cough that may or may not play a role. This allows viewers to fill in the gaps left by the writing, but strangely, Fabrizio Santino, a British actor, delivers his lines in an American accent. This might be acceptable if the movie were set in the US, but it takes place in London with a cast using their natural accents, leaving the presence of an "American" detective unaddressed. His performance is inconsistent, with overacting in some scenes and an underwhelming delivery in others, which applies to the other cast members too. Anto Sharp portrays Collymore’s colleague and best friend Harding, likely more appealing than Collymore, but only marginally so, while his ex-wife Julia (Lauren Budd) has a thankless and uninspiring role.

      Jitters is a film with many ideas simmering beneath the surface—some promising and some rather stretched—yet everything feels too underdeveloped to mesh cohesively. With more revisions, a different cast, and a larger budget, the core concept could have been fleshed out into a more engaging story. However, with a villain lacking clear motivation, amateur-level acting, and a script that aspires to comment on AI and current online trends (which can quickly date a film) yet ends up filled with clichéd and unconvincing dialogue, it’s evident that Hellraiser: Hellworld still reigns supreme in the realm of video game-inspired horror films trying to resonate with contemporary viewers—surely, this modest benchmark isn’t insurmountable?

      **Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★**

      Chris Ward