Hey everybody! Before I get into my review of Murder Party I wanted to inform you guys
of a new kind of miniseries I will be doing from now until Halloween. As many
of you know, this time of year is a favorite for horror geeks like myself and
many others. So to celebrate the greatest time of the year I have decided to
run a series of posts through October 31 that highlight all sorts of movies
that are perfect for the season. What I am calling "Here's to
Halloween" will include movie reviews, marathon suggestions, Netflix Pix
and more, anything that I can find that will get you into the spirit of
Halloween. So pop some popcorn, turn out the lights, carve a pumpkin and get
ready for the greatest holiday of the year. First Up: My review for Jeremy
Saulnier's Murder Party, an instant
new holiday favorite of mine.
Murder Party (2007)
Horror, Comedy
Directed By: Jeremy Saulnier
I was first introduced to the genius of writer/director
Jeremy Saulnier when I saw his Indie revenge masterpiece Blue Ruin and instantly fell in love with what he does with film.
So when I came across Murder Party on
Shudder (a service every horror fan should at least consider) last night and
saw his name attached it was an easy decision to hit play. He had crafted such
a beautiful revenge thriller in Blue Ruin and I couldn't wait to see his take
on horror-comedy. The film does not disappoint as it is an intelligent, dark
humor filled, blood ridden ride that will make you wish it were Halloween
today.
The film keeps it simple as far as story goes, focusing on a
lonely middle aged man who finds a random invitation to a party on Halloween.
Despite the cryptic name "Murder Party" he decides to go anyways. He
appears to have few friends but a strong love for Halloween, so he crafts
together a makeshift suit of armor out of cardboard and heads out to enjoy the
holiday. When he arrives at the party and finds only a handful of art students
it quickly becomes clear that these people had no intentions of enjoying a good
night of partying with this fella. Instead, this group of drugged out, wacky
art students are planning to kill him in the name of their craft. Lucky for
him, these idiots can't seem to agree on anything and if he can stay alive long
enough, he just might survive the night.
With such a ridiculous plot this flick is actually a rather
intelligent horror-comedy that operates on a different level than most others
like it. Yeah, there are a few blatant laughs that are there to remind you that
this is all fun and games but most of the humor throughout the film is quite
dark and seriously deadpan, Saulnier wants you to decide when you think it is
okay to laugh, this film is only as funny as you will allow it to be and for
myself it was hilarious. While poking plenty of fun at the art scene in
Brooklyn this film is really pushing a simple lesson: don't trust strangers.
Just like your mother told you as a kid and this film is reminding you of the
second nature our species has to lie at every chance we get.
This is hardly a film made to teach us lessons though, no,
this is a film made to entertain the hell out of us come Halloween (or any
other day of the year for horror geeks). The story moves along at a quick pace
and once the action starts, it gets bloody. These borderline psychotic artists
set the stage for a true murder party that goes every which way besides the one
they planned. Using a bunch of unknown actors Saulnier pulled great
performances out of them all with Macon Blair (Blue Ruin) being the only familiar face in the bunch. They each
create the personas of their respective characters and in turn shape the film
into the madness we see on screen.
Murder Party is
exactly what horror audiences want to see from a Halloween time movie. It
embodies the atmosphere of the holiday and gets us all excited to dress up come
the 31st. Rather than aiming to be the midnight film that scares the teens,
this succeeds at being a film you can watch at any time and enjoy with a good
pumpkin beer. Even with all the blood, guts, and violent death it is hard to
feel anything more than excitement for Halloween while watching this. If you
are a Shudder subscriber I suggest checking this one out ASAP and for those who
aren't, track down a copy because it is definitely worth your time.
As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches
Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!
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