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I’ll echo what Tyranist said and add on that the movie was decently narrated. As I see it, Party Crasher had the most minute opportunity when it came to the story’s potential but lacked the skill and ambition necessary to dive deeper into it. It was painful watching it and knowing that it began as an attempt to make a movie instead of a story to tell. The bit that made us interested was the promise of development that was shoved back into our faces. Perhaps I shouldn’t have focused so much on the script. The one good thing about the movie was that there was a psychic bond between him and his sister, which seemed promising. Unfortunately, there’s no development regarding it as she doesn’t appear again and neither do any of his powers. It makes sense; someone was scribbling messages in something truly terrible. Henry, is it you? Do you have an alibi? If not, how else would you escape your cell? Is this one of your powers? Is this excrement even yours? Guess what! These are just a few of the questions that have no answer. They pour a great amount of effort into making us empathize with the murderer, and while it works for the most part, it all falls into ruins at the very end, where we learn he’s a deranged cruel maniac who needs to be chased down by his people.
This form of hypocrisy makes me reconsider the purchase of the VCR. The choreography depicting a nude middle aged woman was so grotesque and obligatory that it left me feeling filthy for the rest of my life. Or at least for an hour or so. Even the acting was below the standard of pornography. Absolute garbage, folks.
On the positive side, I suppose there were a few things to be pleased about – Firstly it was a no-budget film, on video, made by a couple of kids. Although the movie was terrible, there was hope that something could be gleaned from the experience.
The actual cause of Halloween’s impact was not that it was an indie film that featured a slasher style or that it was poorly produced. Rather, Halloween was the first completely loved slasher film. This spawned a ton of slashers in the future. Some of them are good, some of them are bad. Party Crasher is somewhere in the middle
All the fans of Halloween would be able to spot a range of small tributes to the slasher per the previous film, but in a broader perspective, this one seems to be unique in its slaughtering sequence. A great deal of effort was made to allow the audience to empathize with Henry. You see traces of his mental illness and the transition period before he goes off the rails. Not long enough to make you hate him, but just enough so that he is somewhat relatable. Furthermore, they expended a great effort trying to make a character who truly loved him. Well, just one character.
The movie begins with little Henry celebrating his birthday at a hotel pool. Everything is serene until someone poisons his drink with a large dosage of hallucinogenic drugs that transforms the vacation to chaos. Little Henry goes on a rampage and starts killing people. Only one survives, but it is never mentioned again in the film. Fast forward to his 15 year birthday, and his parents are bringing the psychopath home. Reiterating the previous statement, you can’t keep him locked up forever.
The movie had a remarkable level of ’80s slasher nostalgia, perhaps owing to the low budget as well as the script and the direction. The movie was charmingly done too. Somehow, the film was fully produced by 1995, and thanks to his independent film distribution First Rites, it is finally being showcased. Although some films, unfortunately, age quite badly, this one is still in the safe zone.
Mark Mason portrays Henry in the film and gives a good performance. Because it is an independent feature, it is expected that the level of acting will be restricted, but this film does not show all faults. The dialogues were decent and some lines were even enjoyable.
The biggest issue for me with this film is the unanswered subplots. It was pretty clear that the filmmakers very purposely had Henry develop a sibling with whom he could converse telepathically. After that point was established she did not make any other appearances in the film. At least for me that was a very big mistake. After going through so much trouble to bring her into the picture, they completely abandoned that avenue of exploration, although I would certainly hope that they pick it up in any sequel they might be making. Another unaddressed subplot was the criminal case that first got the police involved in the case. It served as some exposition and then was dropped like a handful of feces used to tag some doors. Come on, Give us some resolution on this! It was as if the cops did not give a damn once they interviewed the people we needed to get introduced to.
From my point of view, these details similarly diminished the value of the movie. However, I ought to admit that it is much better than most of the slashers out there and worth the money spent on renting it. You shouldn’t hold your breath waiting for Halloween but you can still have fun with this one.
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