Everybody DIES! :Murder Party (2007)

Halloween's just around the corner and for me, it's gonna be a big deal. Since no one in my country (Philippines) takes Halloween seriously ('cept the little kiddies) all I could do is watch horror flicks, but I kinda do that everyday. So I might as just know a thing or two that's "Halloween" Appropriate. And not to mention that I do have this blog now means I can share some random useless stuff that you guys probably already know.

With days away, I guess I could review some very essential "Halloween" Slashers out there. So let's see today's meat!

Murder Party (2007)
rating: ****
starring: Chris Sharp, Kate Porterfield and Tess Porterfield Lovell

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this movie. It's original, funny, and for the first time I can relate to it as an artist. At a certain degree.

A nerdy and lonely security guard goes home for Halloween night with his cat and a couple of rented tapes for company. On his way home, he picked up a random invitation he found on the pavement, to a "Murder Party"; though minding the fact that he might be gatecrashing to a party where he doesn't know anyone, he eventually gave in, baked a pumpkin pie for them and put on a home-made costume made out of cardboard boxes.

Honestly, this guy needed this.

When he got there, he didn't expect that the party will take place in a ware house with very little guests, all of them desperate artists who are hoping their piece will win them the recognition of an Art Impresario as well as prize money. The catch: They must murder him in a very artistic fashion.

The first half of the film is your usual one-hour marker, where we get to know the folks and their plans as we watch them do the funniest and clever comebacks at each other. We also get trashed with random set-pieces such as the most loneliest Halloween gathering, Truth or dare with pizza and drugs, and some back-talking concerning each other's love-life and art pieces. The bloody fun starts at the second half and this is when all things starts to go to the usual territories with a slightly comical twist. With people getting shot, dismembered, hacked, burned and even mauled by a "speed-fed" dog, it's not too long before our hapless, well-meaning yet very scared civil servant must face a rather threatening little psycho (and to add to my glee, he's dressed up as a "Baseball Fury" from my favorite Action-Thriller film "The Warriors").

Cat in the bag? or in the fridge?

I see very little downside to this film as it's imaginative, well written, and directed but I can see one or two people getting lost with the conversation they're having as the talk of art might misplace for a some normies. For all honestly though, I don't think it's gonna matter since there's very little of it and they spend more time arguing and doing unusual things that are not art-related. Add the fact that it's more of a satire for art and those who critic art. there's more pros than cons here so I can't help it if I might oversee some flaws.

If there's anything else I could say to this film, other than it's interesting characters and it's original plot, awesome (and very bloody. Not gory, Bloody) kills and one of the best and funniest chases scenes ever with added "what the heck did he do that for" moments, it's that, for a tight budget debut film and a straight-to-DVD marketing, it's too well made; whoever this Jeremy Saulnier is, I can't wait for his next horror flick!

This is why I don't smoke.

Feeling lonely or just wanna laugh out at the most unusual situations? Then I suggest you track this rare gem and give it a try. I highly recommend this.

Bodycount:
1 female lands head-first to an axe
1 male repeatedly shot on the head
1 female shot on the head
1 male had a leg sawed off with chainsaw, bled to death
1 female axed on the head
1 male had his mouth mauled off by dog, bludgeoned with mallet
1 dog hacked to death with axe
2 males and 4 females hacked to death with axe
1 male falls off a building
1 male gets a chainsaw to the face
total: 15