MURDER PARTY

There might be slight spoilers here, so be warned. I will avoid giving anything too important away, but if you want to go in completely blind, just skip to the final bit of the review.

Martyrs was a grueling, powerful, uncomfortable watch, one that pushes the viewer to their breaking point and dares them to hang on until the message and meaning can be delivered. Murder Party, on the other hand, is a ridiculously silly movie that plays its absurdities in a serious, fairly low-key manner. Make no mistake about it, there does appear to be a message here, and it is delivered squarely at a single group of people: the art community.

Quickly put, the film is about a hapless parking cop who finds an invitation to a murder party one Halloween night. What is a “murder party”? Well, just what it sounds like, a party where the knowing guest is set-up to be murdered. This would be our man, Chris (Chris Sharp), who follows the Map Quest directions to a warehouse in the middle of a desolate section of the city. Once there he finds a group of people, all dressed in costume, and all set to take him captive, which they do with little trouble.

The story unfolds with some tongue in cheek humor, some almost slap-stick violence, and some very dry lines delivered in a wonderful macabre way. The film plays out in a quick and enjoyable way, to be sure the movie is only about 75 minutes long. It gives the viewer just enough humor to keep us going along up until the ultra-violent ending that unfolds. The cast is solid, and this does include Chris’s cat, Sir Lancelot, who when first seen is one of the best sight gags in the whole movie. Lexi’s costume is great, by the way, especially with the way she keeps fighting. It’s an “in joke” to some people that just hits you square in face.

If you want a film that has a great sense of humor, but isn’t too ridiculous, and runs down the path of the ultra-violent for about 10 minutes straight, you might want to check our Murder Party. I do find it funny that my complaint in the last reviews was knowing that everybody dies, and yet this movies tagline is “Everybody dies.” All I can say is to not believe everything you read.