Murder Party

On a quiet Halloween eve, a loser named Chris (played by Chris Sharp, also the film's producer) accidentally receives an invitation to a private and apparently exclusive Halloween party. Quickly fashioning a makeshift costume, Chris crashes the party only to discover that he has stumbled into a carefully thought-out murder plot that—as the invitation-holder—makes him the prospective victim. A would-be comedic splatterfest, writer-director Jeremy Saulnier's Murder Party is a low-budget effort that also suffers from insufficient plotting and amateurish acting. Yes, the flick boasts the occasional tart line, a grimly amusing game of sodium amytal-inspired "truth or dare," and enough bloodletting to satisfy gore-hounds, but the premise wears thin fairly quickly, and the primary setting—a deserted warehouse—generates a sense of claustrophobia that makes the film seem even smaller. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by “The Lab of Madness” production crew, a 25-minute “Extreme Truth” making-of featurette, “How to Make Your Own Brown Knight Costume” (5 min.), four minutes of outtakes and bloopers, the short film “Valediction in Black: Lexi's Art Installation Video” (2 min.), a text pumpkin bread recipe, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a so-so horror flick.] (E. Hulse)