Killer Party (1986)
Directed by William Fruet
Puns! They’ve got em! Some of the charm of the 80s horror scene was the absurd names for the movies, Killer Workout aka Aerobicide (it’s a twofer!), The Dorm that Dripped Blood, and Christmas Evil are a few that come to mind. Killer Party has been on my plate for a while and for whatever reason I haven’t decided to give it a watch. I recently asked Jack (@JacobK666) from the Jack and Nick Horror Show for some obscure slasher recommendations and this was one of them. I figured it was a good time to check this out, but is it worth a watch?
The plot is centered around a college sorority and three friends that are being initiated. They have to go through the typical hazing and rituals that we’ve seen many times in the past in these types of movies. They have to steal tshirts from the rival fraternity, they have to do some disgusting challenges (this time catching raw eggs in their mouths), and being forced to say embarrassing things in public. The main girls are Jennifer whom is kind of the girl next door type, Vivia the nerdy looking prankster, and Phoebe whom is a little more flirtatious than the other girls. The head of the sorority is Veronica, and yeah she’s just your typical hot bitch. She’s pretty good looking but she’s just a plain bitch to the main girls. The girls plan to have a party in the local “haunted house” on April Fool’s Day. Ironically this film was originally titled “April Fool’s” but it was changed shortly after the other slasher film “April Fool’s Day” came out. The house is said to be haunted by the soul of Alan, a young man killed 22 years earlier. At least they picked a different timeframe, not 5 or 10 like the usual slasher troupe.
The acting is actually pretty solid for this genre. No it is not up to Tom Hanks levels of acting but far above the Pauly Shore levels of thespianism that the subgenre is known for. The film does a great job of building the characters and you actually care about the three main girls and a few of the side characters such as the nerdy/horndog guy Martin. The pacing of the film is also pretty decent, there really wasn’t a time where I felt bored during Killer Party. The only knock I would have with this is that I can’t quite nail down the character of Jennifer, is she a good girl, or is she more rebellious? I guess that could be a good thing since she’s not your stereotypical goody two shoes prude. I think Jennifer is meant to be the main character but to me Vivia really steals the movie. She’s funny, smart and kinda cute in a nerdy sort of way. She loves to lead on Martin and he always thinks he’s going to get it in, but as soon as things start heating up she bails. As harsh as it may be, Martin never seems to get down about it and it is actually quite amusing.
The structure of the film is kind of scattered and unfocused at times. The beginning of the movie seems kind of like a college comedy like Animal House or Revenge of the Nerds. Then towards the middle it definitely has that slasher feel. The climax and end are supernatural and eerie. Martin starts off as the hapless loser that desperately wants Jennifer to like him then he kind of just becomes a sex crazed horndog. Granted Martin was wasted so I guess that can explain the character change. The unfocused direction of the film brings this down a little for me, but doesn’t really hinder the entertainment value.
The killer in the film isn’t your stereotypical escaped maniac, which is surprisingly since I’ve stated many times in the past how easy it was to escape a mental institution in the 80s, also every town had one duh! We don’t really get the cliché red herrings in this film. We see what happens towards the beginning of the film and we know who is doing the killing, but it keeps your attention since the characters are oblivious to the happenings. Times towards the end the film can be a little unsettling and that is definitely a good thing. Any time a horror movie an invoke feeling from you and make you uncomfortable is great. The climax and end of the film is where shit hits the fan and it becomes ape-shit bananas. I won’t ruin what happens in the end but it is some good supernatural fun.
I had a good time watching this movie, it is just a fun film that really deserves a little more recognition. After the movie ended I thought it was kind of a mix of Hell Night and Night of the Demons, both are movies I enjoy. The acting isn’t as over the top and campy as Night of the Demons but the similarities are too obvious to ignore. Night of the Demons came out 2 years later in 1988. I forgot to mention the music earlier in this review but it is so bad that its good. The soundtrack is basically just bad pop music with monotonous lyrics and synthesizer, but why did I like it so much? Haha! I would suggest this movie to my horror movie friends. It is kind of a hidden gem in a genre so rich in poop. Killer Party gets a solid B from me. I was definitely entertained but like I mentioned earlier, the plot is kind of meandering and it is not quite sure what it wants to be. Watch this and enjoy it like I did, also remember that April is no fool and these are the best times of our lives, best times!
