Killer Party — Killer Party(Blu Ray)
Killer Party is a late 1980s Canadian film that attempts to blend frat-boy comedy, slasher and foaming at the mouth/ climbing the walls possession action. With side orders of female romantic drama and creepy ‘n’ creepy dark house suspense. It’s certainly a film that tries to mix a lot of genres/ different tones- with decidedly mixed results. Here from Arrow UK is a Blu-ray featuring an HD print and a selection of new & archive extras.
Killer Party (Fool’s Night, The April Fool) is from 1986 and was filmed in several locations around Toronto. It was directed by Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada-born William Fruet. He has a total of forty credits to his name- well over half of these are either TV series or film credits. His features included the likes of home invasion thriller The House By The Lake (1976), moodily paced slasher Funereal Home(1980), psychic link chiller come giant snake creature feature Spasms (1983), and voyeuristic thriller Bedroom Eyes (1984)
From the off, Killer Party is trying to wrong-foot / tonally unbalance the viewer as we get two false starts. The first involves a funeral overlooked by a very camp vicar. And the second is a drive-in date night that goes a bit zombified- neither of these are revisited/ explained.
Anyway, the main part of the film focuses on three female friends who are pledging to a frat/ organising an April Fools party in a creepy/ long abandoned house. We have the bobbed & curly-haired Phoebe (Elaine Wilkes), bespectacled & slightly kooky Vivia (Sherry Willis-Burch), and the more preppy/strait-laced Jennifer (Joanna Johnson).
Just over the first half of the film focuses on a mix of frat boy pranks- like pouring a jar full of bees into the girls' hot tub. And frat girl initiation- like saying they like big cucumbers in a lecture & holding raw eggs in their mouth. With moments of awkward romance from geeky/awkward/creepy frat boy Martin (Ralph Seymour), and brief visits to the creepy house they're going to hold the party in. A few people are killed in this part of the film, and while we have some fairly effective POV stalking, the murders themselves are not shown.
When we get to the party, we shift from thinking the place might be haunted, being stalked by a killer in an old-fashioned diving suit, to all-out possession mayhem. The creepy house element is well enough done. The killer is rather neat/ eerier with his lumbering steps/ heavy breathing- though the kills are off-screen, and we only get to see the aftermath. And lastly, the demonic stuff is wonderfully OTT.
During the late 80s, there were lots of attempts at trying mix other elements/ genres into the slasher form, and I’d say Killer Party is one of the most tonally unbalanced. And to be honest, it’s rather hit-and-miss. The frat boy stuff is vaguely entertaining, but rather tame. The creepy house element shows promise but is never fully developed. The diving suit killer is very neat, but again it’s not fully developed, so really, I’d say the demonic possession side is the most fully formed/ rewarding side of the film.
The region B takes in an HD print- this looks very good, blend crisp/ well defined colours with moments of atmospheric depth. The mix between the dialogue and music is good too.
On the extras side, we get a good selection of both new and old things. On the new side, we have a commentary track from film critic/ podcaster on The Final Girl Stacie Ponder- this is a fun, laid-back, yet most informative/ interesting track. She begins by talking about how she first saw the film as a teen, and it’s remained a favourite since. We find out the film was shot in Toronto in October 1984, going on to be released in 1986, with a brief theatrical release before going on VHS the same year. The film was originally going to be entitled Fools Night or April Fools but couldn’t go for the latter as it was already taken by the Paramount film of the same name. She touches on the film’s fake outs/ genre shifts, and talks about, in general, the use of heavy metal music in horror films- after the White Sister track plays in the pre-credits. Later on, she touches on one or two of the unanswered questions in the film, and connections between this & other 80’s Canadian slasher, Terror Train. She points out a few of the bit-part actors, and of course much more. I believe this is the first track I’ve heard from Ms Ponder, and I was most impressed- so I most certainly will be keeping an eye out for future extras from her.
Otherwise, on the new side, we have: Killer Initiations (12.01), visual essay by film critic Alexandra West of The Faculty of Horror podcast. Slasher Party (11.16), visual essay by film critic Mike Muncer of The Evolution of Horror podcast.
And on the archive side: Head of the Class (9.05), interview with actress Sherry Willis-Burch. Campus Gentleman (7.00), interview with actor Ralph Seymour. Fool's Night (5.36), interview with writer Barney Cohen. Racing to the Party (4.32), interview with composer John Beal. Unholy Diver (7.17), interview with special make-up effects artist Gordon J. Smith. Dressed to Possess (8.26), interview with production designer Reuben Freed. From Burbank It Came: a featurette about 80’s hair metal band White Sister, who have a song on film, as well as a few other 80’s horror films like Fright Night and Nightmare On Elm Street Part 5.
The finished release comes with a booklet featuring new writing by film critics Alison Lang and Amanda Reyes. And a reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch.
I recall seeing the skeletal party dress art for the film back in the VHS days but never got to see it then- so I’m glad to get to check it out after all these years finally. I’d say prepare yourself for a mixed/ tonally unbalancing genre ride, instead of a straight slasher film, and you’ll enjoy Killer Party well enough. This recent Blu-ray looks great, with interesting extras- both new & old.