‘Killer Party’ Is A Zombie Movie With A Refreshing Lack Of Zombies

Synopsis: A group of friends get trapped at a baby shower when a mysterious outbreak starts turning people into homicidal maniacs.

Release Date: August 16, 2016     MPAA Rating: PG-13

Genre(s): Comedy, Horror

Film Review

For the better part of three years, first-time filmmaker Alex Drummond’s The Shower has been toiling away in its various forms on the festival circuit. Finally, it will be available to audiences – only the name has been changed to Killer Party.

Killer Party is about a group of Hollywood twenty-somethings who are attending a baby shower. In the middle of the party, there is an outbreak that turns ordinary people into murderous maniacs, resulting in widespread rioting across the city. The guests lock themselves inside to wait it out, and before long, the outbreak reaches the party. Since the victims look normal, no one can tell who has been affected and who hasn’t until they start killing. Paranoia runs rampant inside the house as the trapped partiers try to figure out who is infected before it’s too late.

For many people, myself included, zombie movies are tired and old. Lucky for us, Killer Party isn’t really a zombie movie. Sure, the basic framework is essentially the second half of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, but the culprits in Killer Party are not undead zombies, they’re regular people who have somehow been turned into psychotic murderers by something in the world. In this regard, it owes more of a debt to Romero’s The Crazies than it does to Night of the Living Dead. It’s a refreshing break from the onslaught of typical zombie movies that have flooded theaters and VOD platforms lately. On the other hand, maybe Alex Drummond just didn’t have the budget for zombie makeup?

There’s a kind of charming naivety to Killer Party. It’s got the look and feel of a glorified student film, and that is meant as a compliment. It’s a very economical movie, with Drummond using whatever was at his disposal to make the best movie he could. The entire film takes place within one house and its yard. A quick glance at the credits shows that many of the actors also serve as producers on the film. Killer Party has a fun united feeling to it, where the audience not only roots for the characters to overcome their situation, but roots for the filmmakers to pull it off and make a good movie. And the filmmakers succeed. Killer Party isn’t the scariest movie ever made, nor is it the funniest, but it’s entertaining, and at the end of the day, isn’t that what it should be all about?

Because of the “zombie” aspect of the film, Killer Party has been drawing comparisons to such modern horror-comedy classics as Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland. That assessment is not entirely justified – it’s not nearly that funny. It does have its moments, though. The funniest gags in the film are derived from the sheer absurdity of the horror, and most of that humor is provided by a clown who just happened to be entertaining kids at the party when the outbreak occurred. There are subliminal sight gags as well – keep a close eye on windows and in the backgrounds, as there are plenty of psychos running around doing psycho things while normal people are having conversations in the foreground. There’s nothing gut-busting in Killer Party, but it will provide a few grins and chuckles to those who are willing to search for them.

There’s not a whole lot to be afraid of in Killer Party. Sure, there’s a freaky clown and some creepy kids, but they’re more amusing than frightening. Aside from a few disturbing images, the movie is pretty tame. The brutally messed up segments, however, are very brutally messed up. Instead of meticulously crafting jump scares, Drummond goes for the gross out, and that works for the kind of black comedy that Killer Party is. There are a few good gore scenes, but that’s all they are: gore scenes. Once they’re over, they’re over. Killer Party is not the kind of movie that will keep anyone up at night.

Cast and Crew

• Director(s): Alex Drummond
• Producer(s): Drew BendaAlex DrummondRachael DrummondAndy HoffMichael T. KuciakSuzanne SenaStephanie Tobey
• Screenwriter(s): Alex Drummond
• Story: 
• Cast: Kurt Ela (Nick)Rachael Drummond (Mary)Suzanne Sena (Joanne) Stephanie Tobey (Beth)Paul Natonek (Zach)Alexandra Fatovich (Sara)Rob Norton (Pat)Stephanie Beran (Caroline)Adam Karell (Edmund)Drew Benda (Dave)Liz Loza (Viola)Tony Rago (The Clown)
• Editor(s): Chan Candela
• Cinematographer: Harry Frith
• Production Designer(s):
• Costume Designer: 
• Casting Director(s): 
• Music Score: Amparo Edo Biol & John Rode
• Music Performed By: 
• Country Of Origin: USA