FrightFest 2026 Review: BAD KARAOKE Hits the Right Comedic Notes

You really know what to expect when the opening scene of a film features a man drunkenly stumbling and landing on a karaoke machine, only for it to electrocute him. This also results in the woman singing having her eyeballs pop out of her head—which promptly ends her rendition of I Only Have Eyes For You (get it?!) with one of them landing directly in a glass of beer. Directors Robert J. Steinmiller Jr. and Chris Lightbody have previously stated, "We were inspired to make this film after years of painful karaoke performances nearly put us in an early grave." Scene well and truly set.

A cover band with a tumultuous history is traveling to its latest—and potentially last—wedding gig, but the members decide to stop for a drink along the way. While at the backwater bar, Emily (Lexi Underwood), the keyboardist, stumbles across a surprisingly sinister-looking karaoke machine known as a "sing-a-ling." Emily takes the machine with little pushback from those in the bar.

After the band arrives at their Airbnb, the party ensues: booze, weed, and, of course, karaoke. Logan (Kevin Clayette) is first up to take on the karaoke challenge with a rendition of I’m Sexy and I Know It. The band enjoys the comical and over-the-top performance, but the machine does not. It declares that the performance was poor and presents Logan with one of three ways to die. Confused, Logan accidentally makes a choice, leading to gory and visceral consequences.

Despite trying to stop the machine and being unable to leave the area, the remaining members of the group are forced to take part in a potentially deadly round of karaoke where they must sing for their lives, each of them telling themselves, "I Will Survive." There’s no ambiguity about Bad Karaoke—this is an anarchic comedy-horror that has its tongue firmly in its cheek. This is epitomized perfectly when the first person to succumb to the "sing-a-ling" is told to "walk it off" after his heart bursts out of his chest.

The comedy and horror are blended really well, with visceral blood, guts, and gore effects harmonizing with farcical scenes of the band trying to clean up the blood-soaked rental home while the owners are waiting at the front door. The cast members do more than play their parts; each ridiculous setup is not played for laughs, but instead is treated as seriously as an acoustic rendition of Hallelujah. One thing Bad Karaoke doesn’t lack is originality, especially when picking an object to be possessed. Lamps, dolls, amulets, and even people have been cursed with malevolent forces, but this is surely the first time a karaoke machine has been possessed by anything more powerful than a series of '80s power ballads.

Despite the story being rather anarchic, there is thought and sentimentality given to certain song choices by specific band members, which adds some refreshing depth. Each singer leans into different strategies to defeat the machine. There are also subtle riffs on the friction between originality and creativity versus familiarity and conformity. Even though most of the comedy is slapstick and chaotic, the filmmakers seem to make a conscious effort to be inclusive, so it is surprising to see a blind character become the target of several jokes. These include the character being unable to operate a walking stick and crashing into objects, despite having been blind for nearly 15 years.

Bad Karaoke is much like taking part in real-life karaoke: it’s fun, lighthearted, shouldn't be taken too seriously, and is best enjoyed with a group, preferably with several drinks under your belt. It is enjoyable and ludicrously good fun—although real-life karaoke usually tends to have fewer butt explosions. Usually.

Movie Score: 3.5 /5

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Bad Karaoke had its world premiere at FrightFest 2026.