Party Night

Party Night isn't a lofty think piece or character drama (and I don't think the filmmakers went into it with that mentality), but it's quick and to the point and doesn't overstay its welcome. Besides that, there are some terrific special effects and the cast isn't full of the usual indie horror movie mouth breathers who appeared to have been hired from a local strip club instead of a traditional casting call.

For a first time film, it certainly has flaws which one could nitpick if they wanted, but the film has a pretty infectious sense of fun that I've personally missed from the genre. Treat it as if it were just a random slasher movie you'd rent in the 90's because the cover art looked cool and you won't be disappointed. It's simple, to the point, and entertaining enough to deem worthy of checking out.

Heading to a special after-party, a group of friends arrive at a secluded cabin in the woods for a special after-prom party only to find the area being stalked by a ravenous killer who begins to kill them off one-by-one and must find a way to stop him and get away from the house alive.

This one wasn't all that bad of a low-budget slasher. One of the main positives here is the rather solid homage to the old-school slasher setups that are usually featured here. The general setup of the group heading out into the middle of the woods for a secluded party no one knows about and coming across the killer hunting in the area serves as the usually fun setup that emerges here as the to-the-point storyline and shorter running time keeps this quite heavily in line with that style. That, in turn, leads into the other big aspect to like here with the slashing scenes which typically take on the quick and brutal style. From the opening spree murders that set the film up, to the deaths around the cabin that spring up and feature them finding the killer taking them out which forces them to engage in several confrontations with him around the cabin which has some fun encounters. Preparing the way for the final girl chase around the cabin finding all the dead bodies left around for the final confrontation, these here are all that really hold this one up. Among the first problem here is the utter ridiculous storyline that offers up no real sense at all. The idea of the group of kids going to a cabin in the woods that a friend owns the night after prom lets out is such a goofy premise for these kinds of genre efforts and really stretches the kind of incredulity already when it covers their lack of a party that concerns ridiculously petty teenage problems since this weak idea doesn't really work well enough to last for a feature-length idea. Lastly, the film is so cheaply made that it's nearly impossible to take this seriously in the slightest. The sound is so hard to hear that it's at times impossible to pick out what's being said, the general look and feel of the cabin speaks highly to the idea of just having used public property without permission and the special effects in total are just cringeworthy. The blood is about the consistency of colored water, trickles out like water and resembles food-coloring while the less said about the decapitation the better. These are what really hold this one back the most.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, a mild sex scene, and underage drinking.

I checked this film out on Amazon Prime and it was a fun short 1 hour 10 minute ride. The acting is decent and while this isn't "horrifying" it's a fun throwback slasher flick that does what it sets out to do which is entertain. I'm interested to see what else the director has to offer with his other films.

Yet another film that wants to imitate the slasher of the 80's. Why do this?? Why not just get a slasher from the 80's?!! It is so rare that these "Neo Retro" films actually work, but hipster directors still churn them out. So we have a bunch of kids who skip the prom after-party and go to a secluded cabin instead, where they all end up being slaughtered (even the kills are totally unimaginative!) The film sounds as if it was recorded in someone's bathroom. You are never told who the killer is or why he is killing. Most of the film is just terrible acting and drinking beer. The critics praised the acting of the "final girl", but I've seen sheep act more convincingly! The only thing at all decent about this movie is the great retro poster art.

I actually thought this film was fun for what it is. Sure, it's cheap, some of the cinematography is poor, and the sound in a few parts is bad, but overall, it felt very much like a slasher flick from the 80's. Those were all about getting a group of dumb teens together in an isolated location and killing them off. That's what this is. If you're not a fan of that type of film, then definitely stay away from this. The gore and acting was better than what I've seen in many indie horror films.

Reading some of the reviews already posted, I see people giving this a 1 because it's predictable or whatever. From what I can tell, it's pretty obvious this film has been presented as an 80's style slasher. Look at the poster and plot description. I don't think they were trying to do anything new. They seemed to want to make a straightforward slasher and that's what they did. It looks like many IMDBers love to give indie films 1's because they are used to production values and stuff that you see in The Nun or whatever else makes it to theaters. Of course a film with a $10,000 isn't going to look like one of those high budget films. Giving all these little indie films 1's is asinine.

Anyway, if you are a fan of slasher films, I'd say check this out. There are some issues, but I really thought it was fun, gory ride.