Incoming (2024) Official Trailer Courtesy of Netflix
School’s Back in Session With 'Incoming'
From the 1970s to the early 2000s, numerous teen and young-adult-focused movies have cemented themselves in Hollywood history, becoming significant cultural films. Incoming attempts to have a similar effect. Usually, this subgenre of movies not only depicts the turbulent teenage years but also captures the experience of a generation of teens. Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Mean Girls, The Breakfast Club, Superbad, and more explored the teenage years in interesting ways that spoke to generations of young adults.
These also seem to capture the culture of a specific generation of teenagers, such as in the case of American Graffiti. In recent decades, the teen genre has shifted away from comedies and dramas, to focusing on adaptations of YA (young adult) novels, such as Divergent and The Hunger Games. Fewer teen-focused movies in the style of Dazed and Confused and Ferris Buller’s Day Off have been released, leaving the genre wide open for a new age of filmmakers to step in.
A New Class
Incoming follows four teenagers, Benj (Mason Thames). Connor (Raphael Alejandro), Koosh (Bardia Seiri), and Eddie (Ramon Reed) as they enter their freshman year of high school. In an attempt to make a name for themselves and define the next four years of their lives, they prepare for their first high school party, with the night playing out how they expected. Released on Netflix on August 23, Incoming was written and directed by Dave and John Chernin. Distributed by Netflix, the movie was produced by Spyglass Media Group and Artists Road.
Mason Thames seemingly came out of nowhere with 2022’s The Black Phone, marking himself in the industry as a powerful up-and-coming young actor. In his follow-up film, Incoming, he solidifies himself as one of the better young talents currently working and capable of being a leading man early in his career. Whereas The Black Phone exhibited his dramatic acting abilities, Incoming flips the script to show off his comedic chops. The role of Benj isn’t a very demanding performance, but Thames elevates the character by bringing a likable charismatic charm. Likewise, he’s able to have chemistry with every actor he interacts with, further showing his acting abilities.
The rest of the four friends are enjoyable to watch as well, but they all lack a spark that makes them stand out. Alejandro as Connor and Reed as Eddie similarly have great comedic abilities like Thames, but their characters aren’t given the same attention to become as interesting as Beji. The two are given their own little side story which is one of the more clever and humorous portions of the film, but their characters don’t provide much to elevate this subplot.
Seiri as Koosh also gives an acceptable role, but similar to the other two friends, his character is difficult to relate to and care about. Koosh comes off more as a way to fill up time, rather than being a character who feels necessary to the plot. Similarly, his side quest isn’t as interesting or humorous as the rest, with almost all of his scenes leaving you wanting to get back to the more engaging storylines.
Inspiration or Derivative
A major holdback for the film is how derivative it feels. Too often, the movie seems as if it’s pulling from better source material, such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High or Superbad, but not able to recreate what made those films classics. It almost seems to suffer from creative inbreeding, where it pulls from all the best teen films without adding anything new to the equation. Following a group of high schoolers trying to get into an upperclassman party, trying to win over their crushes, behaving inappropriately, and trying to lose their virginity has been played out numerous times.
However, Incoming doesn’t find a new way to tell the story. Instead, it plays out as expected, almost hitting every plot point listed in a beat sheet, only doing the bare minimum to update certain aspects to make it fit in with the current generation. For example, the dialogue is littered with Gen Z and Gen Alpha slang and utilizes modern abilities, such as Uber, to tell their story, but none of these enhance the experience. It goes for more surface-level updates rather than cementing itself in the current generation.
A Brief History of The ‘Satanic Panic’
During the 80s to early 90s, the US experienced a massive wave of hysteria surrounding a rumored underground network of Satan worshippers — allegedly doing horrendous acts like sacrificing animals and even abusing children. Before the advent of the internet, it was harder to fact-check in real-time and rumors spread like wildfire. This so-called “Satanic Panic” was championed by far-right conservatives to boot. Akin to the Salem Witch Trials in the 1600s, the hysteria gained traction, taking down any rational thought in its wake. While these lies were largely debunked in the ensuing years, the cultural damage was done. Since mass panic is a real phenomenon, it’s inherently terrifying — making it a fitting subject matter for a horror series.
What’s With All The ‘Hysteria!’?
The series is based on the now-established true story of the “Satanic Panic” set in the 1980s. The series will follow a group of outcasts that start a Satan metal band that starts a Salem-like witch hunt. Deadline adds that the series focuses on “a bizarre series of murders, kidnappings, and reported “supernatural activity” triggers a leather-studded witch hunt that leads directly back to them.”
“Frenetic Energy of the Satanic Panic”
According to Beatrice Springborn, the President of UCP, she states: “This nail-biting thriller dives into a mass moral panic and all the fears, desires, anger, and dread that led to these dark days.” Springborn added, “Matthew’s script is original, intriguing, and perfectly captures the frenetic energy of the Satanic Panic. We can’t wait for audiences to experience the show on Peacock.”
No release date has been set, but in the meantime, rewatch star Bruce Campbell’s cult classics: The Evil Dead (1981) on AMC+ and Evil Dead 2 (1987) on Apple TV.
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As an example, American Graffiti captures the 1950s and ’60s car culture, using this to fuel their story. As a result, the characters are left wandering the streets the entire night, leading to the various stories that ensue. Incoming lacks this portion of culture that makes it stand out. The setting of a wild party also stretches the believability for Gen Z and Gen Alpha, as statistics have shown they’re not a partying generation, so it already leaves the movie feeling at a distance from the current culture. It’s almost as if the filmmakers wanted to make a teen film similar to the ones they grew up loving and forgetting to update it for a modern audience.
The Humor of Growing Up
An element that too many teen-focused movies abuse is being too gratuitous, and Incoming is no different. Other great high school movies have never shied away from being vulgar and graphic, but it depends on how the movie handles these elements that determine how appropriate and comfortable it comes off feeling. In Incoming, there are several times where it feels the movie goes over the line with its sexuality and language, to the point that it takes away from the narrative rather than trying to accurately portray teenagers. It essentially feels as if the filmmakers think they’re being edgy, shocking, and humorous by the excessive amounts of graphic content when it simply comes off as a lazy way of storytelling, and also uncomfortable in depicting minors in a certain way.
The worst thing a comedy film can do is not make audiences laugh. Comedy films can get almost everything wrong in a movie, but if they are successful in being funny, the rest can be forgiven. There are plenty of comical moments that succeed in that regard,
which saves Incoming from being a failure. Not every joke lands, but enough of them do and are spaced throughout the movie to make it continuously engaging. However, similar to the excessive content, there are times when they push the humor too far and keep certain jokes going where they grow stale quickly.
While not one of the worst teen films ever made, Incoming doesn’t provide anything new to an already saturated genre. In a time when we don’t see many high school-centered comedies similar to the ones made in the 1980s and 90s, it leaves plenty of room to provide the current generation with their own movies that fit. However, Incoming takes from the best without doing anything new. With likable characters, an entertaining plot, and several funny moments, Incoming is an easy watch but doesn’t teach or expand upon life lessons that dozens of other popular teen films have already explored. It’s probably best to stick with the classics instead of tolerating this second-rate knockoff.
Incoming is streaming on Netflix.
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Author
| Mason Kupiainen is a recent Butler University graduate with a degree in Creative Media and Entertainment. His work has been published in Butler Collegiate, The Mall, and Byte BSU. Along with written work, he has a videography portfolio with Indy Blue Video, Byte BSU, and Ball Bearings. |
Sammie is an undergraduate student at Arcadia University where she is majoring in English and creative writing and minoring in media and communications. Sammie enjoys writing about her favorite movies and tv shows and hopes to have a career in the media industry.