Tuesday 29 October 2013

MOVIES: In Brief (October 29th 2013)


A round up of a couple of slasher-ish flicks, one from the 80's and one more recent...



Killer Party

US 1986, 91m, MGM/Marquis/Polar

DVD: Warner Archive (US import) - UK Cert 18

When three college girls make their pledge to join a sorority, a party is thrown in an abandoned fraternity house which has been empty since a tragic accident many years earlier. One of the new pledges is enlisted for her skills in setting up macabre practical jokes, to make the party go with a bang. However, when her show begins, more strange things happen than anyone was expecting...

The first ten minutes are an interesting idea in theory, but are a red herring which ultimately slows the film down. Once the action proper gets going, it's an enjoyable enough ride, if muddled somewhat - a troubled and elongated production history, coupled with studio indifference can't have helped... Still, if 80's slasher flicks are your thing, then this moderately entertaining, equally frustrating, somewhat light on gore offering is worth checking out for some entertaining set pieces. It's also a reminder that people in the 80's used to willingly subject themselves to attacks on their hair with electric crimping irons, and wear items of stationery as earrings (no, really)... 





I Didn't Come Here To Die

US 2010, 77m, Kim and Jim/WonderStar

DVD: Second Sight - Cert 18

A group of volunteers on an ecological project in the woods start to encounter grisly fates. As they start to put two and two together and reach the same conclusion, things take an increasingly bizarre turn...

Not so much a slasher, as a very entertaining shaggy dog story. If I was to say too much about the plot of this neat little effort, I would be doing it a great injustice. What I will say is that it takes all of the conventions of the slasher movie, and manages the near impossible - it does something quite original with them. You need to stick with it to the end to appreciate just how good it is, not that it's a chore getting there, as it's a film which is nimble on its feet and doesn't outstay its welcome. Great fun, and recommended for those who fancy something a bit different.

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