Murder Party — he said, she said — movie review — screener!
SHE SAID:
Somewhere there is a man who looks like Chris Elliot, but you will actually care if he dies. Chris Sharp plays Christopher S. Hawley, a totally blah, totally random alprazolam-popping traffic cop whose sorry socialization solely involves interactions with his cat. One Halloween, when the battle for the armchair is again lost to said cat, Chris’ video marathon is thwarted and he decides to uncharacteristically trek out to a mysterious “Murder Party” after claiming a discarded invitation on the sidewalk. In a nifty silent montage, we see his preparation: eschewing a ready-made costume and cleverly concocting a cardboard suit of “armor” and baking some pumpkin bread for his host. Without words, the filmmaker deftly establishes that this guy’s an endearing thoughtful geek whose banality even prompts him to down anti-anxiety meds. So we willingly follow him on his trek.
The next scene he’s freaked out by some dude freestyling on the subway and freaked out again roaming through the industrial district. The tone, the acting, the music (throughout there are horror classic music homages to Halloween, Jason, Exorcist) adds to the tongue-in-cheek tension. When Chris reaches the party, he is greeted by the worst type of assassins: clueless creatives. These starving artists would do anything for grant money! It is an actual murder party with malicious intent with him as the selected victim. This adds a level of realism not found in any horror movie to date. It also adds a great deal of humor that goes far beyond that of aimless fart and frat jokes, despite the prolific use of the insult “dildo”.
The superb camerawork blends spinning Steadicam, crane shots, and shallow depth of field tableau. There are no lulls, no fruitless scenes filled with false frights. All of the actors are odd enough to be believable, skillful enough to be comical. Stellar make-up effects and deaths to boot because you know I value realism like choking chainsaws gnawing on bone, or a victim still functioning after a cranial gunshot. An eclectic music mix of Hendrix-esque, Rockabilly, Electronica, etc, etc round out the glorious absurdity and genre range of this fantastic flick. All of these elements are amazingly and seamlessly edited. Nicely shot, wonderfully paced, awesome performances, masterfully edited — I just can’t compliment Murder Party enough!
HE SAID:
In my Severance review I stated that American Horror is all but dead. The reason I couldn’t say completely dead is because films like Jeremy Saulnier’s Murder Party are keeping the spirit alive and well. It is a prime example of the melding of humor, terror, and social critique, as well as cinematic efficiency (the film clocks in at just 75 minutes).
As Kris stated the plotline above, I won’t bother repeating it. In fact, I’ll keep this short and sweet. Suffice it to say, Saulnier takes a concept that should in every right be terribly unfunny, cliched, and trite, but instead with surprisingly intelligent humor, pointed critique, and skilled direction makes an extremely funny, knowledgeable, and shocking film. The bits concerning the depressingly uninspired collective mindset of artist wannabe’s as well as the absurdity of the whole pop-art scene will undoubtedly appeal to anyone who has ever been to a modern art show. The spunky, naturally off-the-hip dialog will keep indie enthusiasts laughing with glee. And, the effects, more often than not involving the splattery conclusion to some bumbling setup, will keep the gore-enthusiasts strapped to their chairs.
Adding to the experience are a quite a number of in-jokes. Murder Party is rife with filmic references, though they require the viewer to be a bit of an enthusiast to spot them. There are no Family Guy style “here’s an entire scene from film x, in costume. If you don’t get the reference we will continue on to the next scene.” Sure, there are the obvious odes, to The Warriors, John Carpenter, and the like, but there are also a bunch of smart flash inclusions that you have to be on your toes to spot. I won’t spoil any of them for you, but as an example there’s one ultra quick shot reversing Pris’s infamous nostril pull, something found only in the International version of Blade Runner. You Director’s Cut familiars are out of luck.
Really, there’s not too much else to be said. If the above hasn’t convinced you, note this: We liked Murder Party so much we watched it thrice. Murder Party’s an absolute blast, and definitely worth checking out.
SF Bay Area Residents: Murder Party will be screening at SFIndie’s Another Hole in the Head festival, June 1st and 11th, 2007
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