Kill Theory

At this point in horror history, long gone are the simple, yet effective, "By-the-numbers" slasher flicks. Everything has to be bigger and better than the last big thing. What Kill Theory does NOT do, is be an innovative force. It doesn't try to create the next big gimmick for horror movies to come. What it DOES do, and well I might add, is take everything that has made slashers work in the past, and incorporate that into a very competently made modern slasher flick.

One of the things I liked most about Kill Theory, is that there really isn't a main character. There is no obvious hero, there isn't really a "Red herring" so to speak. The film puts together a decent ensemble of people, some of whom are recognizable from past efforts, some were unknowns. For me, I immediately noticed Theo Rossi, and Taryn Manning from Sons Of Anarchy, an excellent show if you haven't checked it out yet. I also recognized Daniel Franzese from "Bully". Overall though, Each character appears to be as important as the last. It never emphasizes one character over an other.

The concept is interesting. It's not something new, but it's done very well, and keeps you engaged in the story, instead of waiting for the next kill. Normally in modern slashers, I've completely tuned the "Story" out, and I'm sitting in anticipation for the next piece of visual effects put on display. Speaking of effects, there are plenty of scenes of blood and gore in the film, which are also done very well. So if you're looking for some grue and grime, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the level of gritty violence and gore.

The pacing was perfect. Sitting at a brisk 81 minutes, the film takes no time setting things in motion. There is a "Whodunit" aspect to the film, but it never harps on it. You don't see the "Killer's" face until the end of the film, but it doesn't make it a big "Reveal" moment,and those of us who have been keeping up to date on slashers, will immediately recognize his voice.

If you're thirsting for a slasher film, and if you're like me, and are sick of the "Saw" franchise, and it's imitators, give Kill Theory a shot. It may not be the next big thing, but it takes different elements that made classic slashers work, and put them together in a fun, bloody, competent package.

3.5/5 - napalmfuzz

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Kill Theory is a film that looked really bad in my opinion, the trailers were not very good and the film didn't get very good reviews and it honestly seemed like another torture porn, ,,Saw wannabe" However that is not what you get. This film blew my mind, it is a slasher but it has thriller elements. The acting is all right and the photography was really good. The movie is gory and delivers on the slasher front. The thing that i didn't expect from the film was the psychological horror, which was very good. The film is very intense and did surprise me a lot. And without spoiling, the ending is awesome! Horror fans will enjoy it. 7/10

A welcome new take on the slasher genre, Kill Theory starts out quite well, but soon deteriorates into TV teen-soap territory because of the ill thought out character relationships.

The titular kill theory of the villain only works because the characters are pretty shallow and have a common backstory straight out of a bad Gossip Girl story strand. It would have been much more interesting if the group dynamic at least resembled one from the real world where friends do not necessarily hold old grudges and girls might not viciously fight over guys who seemingly do not even deserve it. This way the plot becomes repetitive and predictable quite soon.

It's sad that instead of really working the new angle, the filmmakers only used it as a hook to dress up the same old same old. Acting is solid throughout, apart from one spectacularly bad choice. The actor playing the "put upon fat guy with strong complexes and deep resentment waiting to surface" plays just that with all the cliché choices one might associate with the cliché role, plus overacts so badly that he completely kills all the scenes he is in. He should go back to acting school or look up "restraint" in the dictionary. (To be fair to him, the director might also be to blame; how could he let the guy screw up so disastrously is beyond belief - are they close friends or relatives?) All in all, a film that one might pass the time with but nothing memorable.

Reasons I liked this 1. The idea of the villain making the victims kill each other was kinda new. 2. The acting was decent. 3. The surprise at the end was... a surprise.

Reasons I didn't like this 1. The victims weren't particularly sympathetic or likable. I wanted to see them die. 2. The villain was a chatty bastard just like that moron Jigsaw. Man, just shut up with your damn philosophy garbage. Give me silent slashers like Leatherface, Jason or Michael... that or give me funny/scary ones like Freddy or Billy (Black Christmas). 3. Too much Shaky-CAM!!! 4. Too much pointless running around and jabbering just to pad out the time. 5. Lame High School (I know, they're supposed to be college students...) histrionic soap opera crap. I came away with the idea these people might have offed each other even without the encouragement of Mr. Talksalot.

So... 5 to 3... means this movie was a dud. Only worth watching if you're really bored, like I was.

Man, i wanted to like this. I loved the premise, and the actors were all beautiful save one. The theory was good, but the dialog and acting was so poor. You literally hate the characters the first half of the movie. They don't make rational choices. They scream and run and curse, then scream some more. Then they curse again. Everything is pure emotion, zero logic, zero thought, zero planning. The fat guy was like the gay guy in Mean Girls. May have been the same guy, idk, but they are close to the same character. You don't shed a tear when anyone dies. Actually, you are relived They quit screaming and running around. Even with all this, I semi enjoyed it..the plot and premise are enough to keep you engaged. The ending was kind of a twist, and not horrible. Overall, not bad but the potential wasted with such a cool premise is what I will remember it for. Give it a shot if you like the genre. If you don't like this genre, you won't like this movie. A solid 5.