Monday, November 19, 2018

HALLOWEEN HANGOVER: MURDER PARTY (2007) *** ½


Before he wowed everyone with Green Room, Jeremy Saulnier made this surprising and fun horror flick.  It starts off with a very Carpenter vibe (especially during the opening scenes of kids trick-or-treating), before turning into something wholly unique and fresh.  It’s truly the work of a gifted filmmaker who is having a blast springing surprises and twists on his audience every chance he gets.

A likeable nerd (Chris Sharp) is content on spending Halloween alone with his cat.  He changes his plans when he finds an invitation to a “murder party” on the street.  He then makes a costume out of cardboard and shows up to an abandoned warehouse where a group of weirdoes in costumes kidnap him, tie him up, and inform him that they will kill him at the stroke of midnight.

Murder Party starts off like gangbusters and Saulnier rarely takes his foot of the gas.  It’s a thin premise, but the running time is only 79 minutes long.  Saulnier’s obviously smart enough to know when to quit and gets as much out of the (mostly) single setting as possible.  Even in the claustrophobic location, Saulnier is economical enough to make the production feel much bigger, and his deft style keeps you on your toes.

Once the axes fly and chainsaws start revving, it’s a gory good time, but even some of the stalling tactics (like the game of “Extreme Truth or Dare”) are clever and fun.  The last act, which takes place outside of the warehouse location is like going down a rabbit hole of nightmarish lunacy.  Saulnier also makes a handful of funny jabs at the hipster art scene during this section of the film, most of which manage to score a bull’s eye.

As good as a debut as this was, Saulnier amazingly just got better.  

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