“Murder Party” (2007)

Film review by J.D. Hawke

Rating: NR

Directed by: Jeremy Saulnier

Synopsis:

A man receives an invitation to a Halloween “Murder Party,” and unwittingly volunteers

to be the main attraction at his very own murder.

As the blood spills and the killers start to unravel, he fights for survival in a warehouse

meant to be center stage for the show.

Review:

And now for something completely different…

You guys, Murder Party is ridiculous. Hugely, strangely, ridiculously ridiculous. The

acting is not bad. The script is inventive. You guys, this movie is fun.

We begin by meeting Christopher, a loser who plans to spend Halloween at home with

his cat and a bag of candy corn. He happens upon an invitation to a Murder Party just

lying in the street. He figures, “Eh, what the hell?” and decides to crash the party. He

makes a quick Halloween costume (you won’t regret this part, it’s great) and bakes some

pumpkin bread (because who shows up to a Murder Party empty handed?) and heads off

to the party. It’s only when he gets there does he realize his mistake: he’s blundered into

a room filled with weapons and murderous art students bent on creating the ultimate

new age art show – Murder.

Then there’s a lot of buildup. Some tension, some sex, some drug use, and long periods of

waiting mitigated by the occasional crowd-pleasing death. It all culminates in a climax

that pits Christopher against our would-be artists, complete with hilarity and lots and

lots of blood.

Murder Party is nowhere near what you might expect from a movie with this title. I went

into this movie with zero expectations or bias, and I’m glad I did. The title alone was

enough to get me interested, but the movie delivers on its promise of horror/comedy. The

cast definitely had some fun with this movie, and it shows in just how crazy things get by

the end when the artists start to turn on each other in the name of notoriety.

Overall, it wasn’t my favorite movie in the horror/comedy genre, but it was a fun way to

kill an hour and a half. Murder Party won the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival Audience

Award for Best Narrative Feature, and enjoys a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Go

check it out, and enjoy!

Darklady’s Horror Movie Review Ranking: 8.5 skulls

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