I picked Murder Party to watch tonight because it was late already and I wanted to actually be able to fall asleep afterwards. Um... I don't know if that will be happening. Murder Party scared me, and I'm not too proud to admit it. It also made me laugh out loud- hysterically at parts. Its plot is ridiculous, but its humor is witty and its violence is gratuitous.
The summary and review I'm about to give you doesn't really matter. Honestly, just stop reading now and go get this movie. But if you want to know what it's about before you make a decision, here ya go: Loser/nobody Chris finds an invitation to a "Murder Party" on Halloween. Having nothing better to do, he resourcefully creates a sweet cardboard knight costume and heads to the party- in a deserted warehouse in Brooklyn. The party, hosted by a dysfunctional art collective, soon turns homicidal and Chris must figure out a way to survive.
The New York (or any similar urban city) art scene amuses me to no end. The caricatures in Murder Party are so absurd, and yet not unrealistic of aspiring artists, who seem to be willing to do practically anything to get a gallery show or some grant money. Another good movie that mocks the art scene is (Untitled), which just came out on September 21st. The characters from Murder Party are shown in a humorous light much more often (the writing is brilliant), however, which makes this one scary movie that I would LOVE to watch again just for the sheer fun of it.
Graphic violence makes me uncomfortable- as it should, I think. Some of the shots in Murder Party linger just a wee bit too long to draw out that nasty, kicked-in-the-gut feeling. In addition to all the blood, the visuals in this movie are stunning. It's bright, detailed, and colorful; creative Halloween costumes abound (I mean they are artists, right?). Another thing that makes me really uncomfortable (and scared and, later, paranoid) is human disfigurement. This movie's got it! I won't give it away because it's kinda crazy (and hilarious in a terrible way), but let's just say one of the characters really gets into his costume.
The gore and fright in this movie is perfectly balanced with humor and the fact that our "hero" is a total loser. He's a meter maid- he issues parking tickets for the NYPD. He lives with his cat. The artists originally think he might be handicapped because his costume is so lame (I thought it was badass, but I also like anything homemade from cardboard). And yet, we are rooting for him. We can relate to him and he is, after all, innocent. My favorite scene of this movie is after the major bloodbath is over and Chris (and the audience) are decompressing after so much blood and tension: Chris approaches the subway turnstile. He stops, digs in his pockets, and his shoulders slump as he (and the audience) realize that his captors took his wallet hours ago. The scene is shot just perfectly, allowing for a return to reality, to remember that this is just some average guy who now has to walk home because sadly, not even one thing in his night can go right.
The writing is clever and the gore is well executed. Murder Party would be great to watch with a group of people- unless you hate violence and/or horror films, I don't think you will dislike this movie. Just check out the cover art. So appealing... even though he's covered in blood and wielding chainsaws. Go rent it! Now! (You can find it on the Perfect List at Reckless Video. Yeah. It's loved that much.)
See you tomorr-later today!
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