Murder Party (2007)
UHM is an independently owned site that relies solely on ad revenue, so we ask that if you like this site and what we do to help support by temporarily disabling ad block (if you're using one). If you'd rather help in other ways you can also send a tip by clicking here (or the button below). Any amount helps and will go towards the costs to maintain the site. Anyone who donates will also be listed in our thanks page.
Straight to DVD horror flicks are a dime a dozen, but sometimes you get a film that stands out from the bunch, and first time writer/director Jeremy Saulnier has given us that film. Murder Party is a low-budget movie that relies on its wits, dialogue, and interesting characters to drive the story, and for once it all actually works. Also serving as cinematographer, the movie definitely doesn't have the standard low-budget look; in fact, it could probably even pass as a limited theatrical release.
In the film we follow a loner named Chris, who comes across an invitation to a "Murder Party" while walking home from work. Thinking it's his chance to have a little fun for a change; he creates a knight's costume out of cardboard and readies himself for tonight's mysterious Halloween party. After a long trek through the city, he makes his way to a seemingly abandoned warehouse, where he discovers a handful of oddly-dressed individuals, who knock him out shortly after his entrance. Chris wakes up bound to a chair and realizes that the title for the party is actually taken literally, and he's the victim of a group of art students hoping to please a local big shot in the art scene.
Surprisingly, most of the subtle humor works for the film's pace and characters, and managed to get quite a few chuckles out of me. Sadly, some of the more dialogue-driven scenes during the half-way mark is a bit uninteresting and drags on at times. Luckily, it doesn't last too long and things begin to pick up once they start turning on each other, and the "Brown Knight" finally makes his way out of the chair, but then finds himself running for his life when one of the characters flips out and goes on a murder spree. Naturally, there's a good amount of blood and even some gory deaths towards the end. Add that up with the fun characters and homage’s to other movies and you've got yourself a pretty fun flick.
A fun low-budget horror-comedy, with humor and characters that actually work. The pacing drags a little around the middle, but picks up and delivers a nice bloody climax. Worth a check.