KillRoy Was Here

KillRoy Was Here is a 2022 American comedy horror anthology film directed by Kevin Smith and written by Smith and Andrew McElfresh. The film stars Azita Ghanizada, Ryan O'Nan, Harley Quinn Smith, Chris Jericho, Justin Kucsulain, Jason Mewes, and Ralph Garman.

The film was released as 5,555 exclusive non-fungible tokens on July 12, 2022, on Legendao, Secret Network's NFT minting platform. It is the first feature film to be released as an NFT.

Premise
The film is a comedy horror anthology centred around the phenomenon of the "Kilroy was here" graffiti.

In the wrap around, a teenager tries to scare a child by telling her about legends involving Killroy and to never ever say his name 3 times. When the teenager finds out her boyfriend has been cheating on her, she gets the child to summon Killroy and kill him, only to reveal this was a ploy for the child to kill her boyfriend instead, saving her from the blame. Soon after, Killroy appears and kills the teenager, the child managing to summon Killroy for real.

In the first story, a mother poisons her daughter for multiple years in order to pull off a charity scam, talking to the news and churches in order to get false donations for their sick daughter. The daughter, confused about whats happening with her, looks up the plant used in the tea her mom makes is poisonous. At a church meeting where her mother is raising funds, the daughter reveals the truth to everyone and kills herself in the name of Killroy, who soon appears and kills everyone in the building.

In the second story, a woman attempts to put on a play at an elementary school, where one of the children tells her that another performer keeps trying to summon Killroy. When the woman looks more into the legend, she learns that Killroy is used by parents in the town to scare their children into behaving. When she sneaks into the school to investigate further, she uncovers hundreds of drawings and stories about Killroy, spiraling into insanity, its soon revealed to be a prank set up by the Janitor in order to scare her, revealing that once a year: Students disappear and, in order to save themselves, make a deal with Killroy to trick an adult into summoning him so he can claim a sacrifice. Killroy appears suddenly, killing her and becoming more powerful. The child takes Killroy's hand and he leads her into the nearby dark forest, their fate unknown.

In the third story, a priest takes children on a road trip to a camp site, but things take a turn when the children catch him smoking weed while driving, and a gas station cashier warns the boys that if anything bad happens, to summon Killroy. Making a different turn than the one to the campsite, the priest and children arrive at a motel, where its revealed that the priest is a part of a pedophilia ring of priests that take immigrant children with parents in legal limbo  and sell them to pedophiles. The boys summon Killroy when the priest start to attack, who quickly kills the priest.

In the fourth and final story, presented as a found footage film, a southern live streamer lures gay men for sex, then shames them on camera by insulting and attacking them, while viewers laugh. After shaming someone on a live stream, the victim commits suicide and the streamer holds a celebration stream for it, showing no remorse. Soon, the streamer is kidnapped and tied to a tree, where its revealed that the victim's wife found the stream and wants revenge by feeding him to gators, the streamer summoning Killroy before his death. Soon after the incident, Killroy appears and ties the wife to the same tree, killing her as well.

Development
In April 2014, Kevin Smith announced the Christmas-themed horror movie Anti-Claus, with a script based on the episode The Christmas Special of his Edumacation podcast. The script was co-written by his Edumacation co-host Andrew McElfresh, marking it the first script Smith collaborated on with another writer. Filming was initially scheduled for September 2014, with Tusk (2014) actors Justin Long, Michael Parks, and Haley Joel Osment returning as cast. The movie centered around the European folklore figure Krampus, a devil-esque creature who punishes naughty children.

The film is a horror anthology based on the graffiti phenomenon that Smith directed, based on a script co-written by him and Andrew McElfresh, marking the first time he shares writing credit on one of his movies. The script is a retooling of their Anti-Claus movie, which was initially cancelled after the release of Krampus (2015) due to the similar story.

Filming
Principal photography began on June 15, 2017, in Sarasota, Florida, with Brandon D. Hyde serving as cinematographer. The film also shot scenes in areas around Ringling College of Art and Design and Nathan Benderson Park, before moving to Longboat Key. In January 2018, Azita Ghanizada, Ryan O'Nan, Justin Kucsulain, Kathryn Parks, Brendan Ragen, Michael Perez, and Cindy De La Cruz were confirmed to be starring in the film, while Andrew McElfresh, Tony Stopperan, Joe Restaino, Nick Morgulis, Jordan Monsanto, and Adam Yeremian signed on as producers. In the same month, Smith's daughter, Harley Quinn Smith, joined the cast. In August 2018, Chris Jericho was confirmed to star in the film,   before filming wrapped in October 2018.

Post-production
In April 2020, Smith revealed that the tone and style of KillRoy Was Here were inspired by Creepshow (1982), another comedy horror anthology film. Robert Kurtzman designed the titular character, describing it as a "long-nosed monster". Simon Taufique was revealed to have composed the score for the film. By April 2022, Jason Mewes and Ralph Garman were confirmed to appear in the film.

Release
In February 2020, before the COVID-19 lockdowns, the film was set for a 2020 theatrical release. In July 2020, during San Diego Comic-Con@Home, Smith indicated that the theatrical release had been pushed back to 2021. In April 2021, it was announced that the film would be released exclusively as a non-fungible token (NFT). The film's distribution rights were set to be auctioned off in May 2022 at Jay and Silent Bob's Crypto Studio. KillRoy Was Here was ultimately released via NFT minting platform Legendao as 5,555 exclusive tokens on July 12, 2022.