MURDER PARTY! Make this one a Halloween tradition along with FEEDING FRENZY.

MURDER PARTY is a great example of how low budget horror can be far better than all the high end expensive big studio horror movies put together.  This is a fantastic film.  Its a comedy that is as clever as it is splattery.  Most of the movie takes place in one large room in a warehouse with a bunch of people standing around and talking.  Its kind of like RESERVOIR DOGS but with art students instead of gangsters.  The film is never boring though.  The characters are interesting and unique.  They have your attention throughout the film and the writing is hilarious.  MURDER PARTY is one of those films where you are not sure where it is going.  This isn't the same kind of story that has been told a hundred times before.  This is something new. 

So the story goes as follows.  Our hero Cardboard (that is not his name in the movie.  I am calling him Cardboard because in the LARPING world if you make your costume out of cardboard the nerd-os will make fun of you and call you Cardboard.  Watch DARKON for more information on LARPING.) finds a Halloween party invitation for anyone blowing in the wind.  At first he doesn't want to go but his cat takes his seat in front of the t.v. and Cardboard is too much of a push over to kick the cat out.  So Cardboard goes to the party dressed like a knight in shiny cardboard and duct tape.  I got to tell you, if I had the creative skills I would go as Cardboard for Halloween this year.  Its a great costume.  I wonder if anyone would know who I was suppose to be.  Anyhoo, soon as he arrives to the party he is captured by a group of art students who are going to kill him in the name of art.  The movie then becomes kind of like the BREAKFAST CLUB in that these characters start to get to know one another until they push the wrong buttons on the wrong guy and all hell breaks loose.

I am not sure if younger audiences nowadays would find a movie like this entertaining.  MURDER PARTY maybe a little too retro for the kiddies.  Would they know what movies their costumes are from?  I am concerned that intelligent comedies are lost on the generation that flocked to the screens to see VAMPIRES SUCK.  Do kids even love Halloween anymore?  This movie is a celebration of the holiday.  The overall vibe I get from the film is that all these people in the film are friends and they are making a movie about the time of year they love most.  This film is extremely fun to watch.  It is as if you are friends with these people and you are there participating in what is happening.  You get their jokes and fall in love with their eccentricities.  You kind of root for everyone in the film even though they just kidnapped some poor bastard and are going to kill him to satisfy their egos.

MURDER PARTY is filmed well.  The camera isn't distracting while capturing the dingy detail of the New York ghetto area.  For a low budget there is nothing amateurish about it.  These guys know what they are doing.  I was really impressed with their use of blood too.  There is a lot of it in this movie but it isn't overly used even when things turn into a bloodbath.  The blood is effectively used to get the point across.  There are of course some wonderful practical make-up effects too.  The most talked about one is the melting werewolf mask on the guy's face gag.  His mask catches fire and when it is finally put out the mask breaks apart but parts of it are melted to his face.  It's awesome and perfectly executed.  You can see the effort and love put into every aspect of this film.  I really can't praise the film enough.

I mentioned FEEDING FRENZY in the title of this review because I think the best double feature to watch with your friends are these two movies back to back.  You will have a fun night.  These two films make you excited for horror movies again.  They are well made and deliver on the goods.  I am going to make it a tradition around here to get a bunch of peoples to come over and watch FEEDING FRENZY and MURDER PARTY.  Think about it.  Is there a better double feature pairing?  I don't think so.  Support these films.  You won't be sorry unless you find TWILIGHT parodies hilarious.  Then you are a dildo.  Don't be a dildo.  I learned that you don't want to be a dildo from watching MURDER PARTY.

Jason