Murder Party: Every... Body's... Gonna... Die...

Ok so, last night some friends and I got together for Shitty Horror Movie Night, because if there's anything better than a good horror movie, it's a shitty horror movie. They're fun for their cheesiness, overblown plotlines, bad acting, bad filming, etc, and I have a deep passion for them.

First we watched a gem called Flesh Eating Ghouls From Outer Space which was not so much a horror movie as a high schooler's homemade fifteen minute puppet show about murderous aliens who destroy the world and are fed Twinkies.

Oh yeah and it's a musical.

I've seen some awful movies in my time and I found this piece of shit difficult to sit through. Like, my ironic enjoyment of it was stretched to its very limit with this thing.

On an entertainment scale I'd probably have to give it a 4/10. Because there were a couple moments, buuuuuut unless you're really dedicated to shitty cinema (*raises hand*) I wouldn't waste my time.

After that we decided to watch Murder Party, mostly because the guy who'd seen it already promised that it was actually good.

Firstly I feel it necessary to admit my standards were just dirt low by then, so take my enthusiasm with a grain of salt.

But personally I was incredibly impressed by this film.

Despite the silly name, Murder Party is a surprisingly well-made movie that takes itself seriously only in the bits where it mattered.

The director described it as "Breakfast Club but with chainsaws and hard drugs" but I felt like it was more Tarantino meets Kevin Smith and they get together and double team Sam Raimi.

Which I guess kinda gets the same effect.

But still.

The plot is a stereotypically simple one: Lonely guy finds an invite to a "murder party" (see what they did there?) and decides to attend out of boredom (and because his cat, Sir Lancelot, refuses to get out of his chair).

This plunges him into a nightmare world where dimwitted hipster art-major-flunkies vie desperately for the attention their friend Alexander through MurderArt™ (i.e. they plan to kill the main character for the sake of art) and also take entirely too many drugs while doing it.

Meanwhile, our hero, who's almost as idiotic as his captors, is sitting in his goofy-ass cardboard knight costume and continually fucking up his escape plans with sheer incompetence.

Most of the movie feels like a parody of horror movies, because it constantly takes horror stereotypes and either tips them on their heads or transforms them into Shaun-of-the-Dead-esque gags. Throughout, there are some truly hilarious points that really display the talents of both the writers and the actors.

But when it comes time for the movie to actually be a legitimate horror movie, it really does hunker down and deliver in an incredibly satisfying way.

And it's not just the gore/special effects, which are by themselves -very- impressive. When a character's face gets burnt off, the makeup is so good I honestly found it very difficult not to look away.

But it's got the suspense aspect as well. You're really terrified for the main character by the end of it, because the events are set up so well, and the way they unfold keeps you glued to the screen til the very end.

On top of all this, the movie is beautifully shot.

The director has a real eye for what makes an aesthetically pleasing shot, whether it's of the hero making pumpkin bread or somebody's head being ripped apart with a chainsaw.

So kudos to that, too.

Now, I purposefully left out plot-related spoilers because I really, truly want everyone and anyone who reads this to go out and see this film.

And if you can, pay for it.

The guys that made this movie are really amazing people that deserve the money.

Also, if you get a chance, get your hands on a version with the special features and watch the Making Of short. The story behind this movie is genuinely heart-warming and inspirational, especially to anyone who's even vaguely considering film-making as a career.

If you like senseless gore, making fun of pretentious hipsters, watching people take hard drugs, or seeing a middle aged man running around in a stupid looking cardboard costume, this movie is for you. If not, I'm not really sure why you're reading this in the first place.

That's all I got.

Thanks for reading,

Yours,

Amanda