Murder Party (2007) 8/10

Ahh Murder Party, saving me from mediocre re-makes and high budget crap.

Murder Party is about a pathetic, naive, kind, socially awkward, and totally lovable guy that lives alone with his huge fat cat sir Lancelot. He receives a mysterious invitation to a Murder Party on Halloween night and decides that for once he'll take a chance. After making a Sir Lancelot costume out of cardboard he goes to the secret location only to find that the party has been thrown to commit a murder, his murder! The murderers? These are the lowest of the low, the pretentious artists looking for the next big thing but unable to look beyond themselves and their own egos.

What we have here is an 80min film that blasts all supposed artists and especially groups of people that collectively create "art," but really just sit around stroking each others egos and adamantly not growing up. These are the irritating people in your art class in college that couldn't stop talking about how great they were even though they were turning in the equivalent to finger paintings.

The acting is great as well as the characterizations. Obviously these guys have had A LOT of experience with art jerks. The film makers are collectively known as the Lab of Madness and have been making horror films since they were kids. Each actor performed another position within the production truly making a collective effort. They all grew up together and after securing good jobs after college decided to pool their resources to make a fun film and a statement. Statement heard loud and clear guys.

The film takes place mostly in an old warehouse but the film doesn't seem confined by this. Rather it seems more interesting and emphasizes the interplay between the characters. The script moves at a quick pace and never becomes dull. The film is really a horror/comedy with some pretty good gore in certain spots but isn't really "gory." In this film it doesn't need to be. The script is smart and the characters and events although exaggerated, still seem believable. In fact i still feel sorry for the main character and really just want to give him a hug and maybe hang out, introduce him to some people, you know? I quickly became attached to him and wanted him to survive. That kind of support is rarely created in horror films and it's great to see a group of people creating original work that respects the genre.

Check this film out if you're looking for something new, smart, and fun. This is a really great film and i look forward to see what these guys do next.

Gore - mild to medium

Nudity - none

Overall - 8/10