Connect with us

News

Review: ‘Rave Party Massacre’ Misses the Mark

Published

on

Rave Party Massacre AKA DeadThirsty, the latest release from writer/director Jason Winn and co-writers Jonathan W. Hickman and Maggie D. Hickman takes us back to an illegal rave in a soon to be demolished hospital in the 1990s where an unknown killer stalks the light-stick twirling, drug-fueled beautiful bodies pressed together in Bacchanalian revelry.

I mean, we’ve all been there, right?

On the surface, it seems like a solid setup for a horror film. Raves back in the day were dark and filled with people unable or unwilling to pay attention. Honestly, I’m surprised more people weren’t murdered at raves, but that’s the subject for another article.

Unfortunately, Winn and the Hickmans never quite manage to bring it all together.

It all begins when Rachel and her boyfriend, Branson, arrive at the aforementioned rave, and they’re obviously having relationship issues. We see in flashbacks that Branson not only has a serious temper, but he’s found himself sucked into the world of conspiracy theories in the wake of a speech given by former President George H.W. Bush in which he outlined his idea about the “thousand points of light”.

President Bush also spoke of a New World Order in that same speech and Branson and his buddies have bought completely into the idea so much so that they’re ready to start a revolution…maybe?

Sara Bess as Rachel in Rave Party Massacre

The truth is none of what happens in the film is really explained until the credits begin to roll. It’s like they suddenly realized they didn’t give any real exposition so the audience would understand what or why anything had happened so they decided to throw information at them at the end in hopes that they wouldn’t notice.

The Bad News is we noticed; the Good News is…I still haven’t decided what the Good News is.

Either way, Rachel and Branson are definitely on their way to splitting up and the fact that they both end up hooking up with other people within five minutes of showing up to the rave cements that fact. A mysterious figure dressed in black and wearing a hyena mask is handing out drugs and everyone who takes them wakes up the next morning trapped inside the hospital as the man in the mask begins picking them off one at a time.

The script is pretty standard with more holes than good Swiss cheese and matching production values.

Why were these particular people chosen to be killed? Is it random? And why kill people from a rave?

The only thing that does make sense is that the rave is in a building that is set to be demolished the next day. (For younger readers who missed the rave scene in its heyday, the more dangerous the location, the better!)

Winn did give us one beautiful shot in the film when Rachel wakes up in a morgue drawer the morning after the rave. Her body seems to float in the darkness surrounded by a perfectly shaped coffin of light.

It was reminiscent of the oft-maligned Buried, and I’m not sure that Winn didn’t do the job better than that film’s director.

If you do decide to give Rave Party Massacre a try, do yourself a favor and watch the credits first. At the very least, you’ll know more about what’s going on in the film, even if the answers aren’t entirely satisfying.

For more information about the film you can follow them on Facebook and take a look at their official website.

Check out the trailer below and look for Rave Party Massacre on VOD and DVD on April 10 2018.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Movies

Mike Flanagan Comes Aboard To Assist in Completion of ‘Shelby Oaks’

Published

on

shelby oaks

If you have been following Chris Stuckmann on YouTube you are aware of the struggles he has had getting his horror movie Shelby Oaks finished. But there’s good news about the project today. Director Mike Flanagan (Ouija: Origin Of Evil, Doctor Sleep and The Haunting) is backing the film as a co-executive producer which might bring it much closer to being released. Flanagan is a part of the collective Intrepid Pictures which also includes Trevor Macy and Melinda Nishioka.

Shelby Oaks
Shelby Oaks

Stuckmann is a YouTube movie critic who’s been on the platform for over a decade. He came under some scrutiny for announcing on his channel two years ago that he would no longer be reviewing films negatively. However contrary to that statement, he did a non-review essay of the panned Madame Web recently saying, that studios strong-arm directors to make films just for the sake of keeping failing franchises alive. It seemed like a critique disguised as a discussion video.

But Stuckmann has his own movie to worry about. In one of Kickstarter’s most successful campaigns, he managed to raise over $1 million for his debut feature film Shelby Oaks which now sits in post-production. 

Hopefully, with Flanagan and Intrepid’s help, the road to Shelby Oak’s completion is reaching its end. 

“It’s been inspiring to watch Chris working toward his dreams over the past few years, and the tenacity and DIY spirit he displayed while bringing Shelby Oaks to life reminded me so much of my own journey over a decade ago,” Flanagan told Deadline. “It’s been an honor to walk a few steps with him on his path, and to offer support for Chris’ vision for his ambitious, unique movie. I can’t wait to see where he goes from here.”

Stuckmann says Intrepid Pictures has inspired him for years and, “it’s a dream come true to work with Mike and Trevor on my first feature.”

Producer Aaron B. Koontz of Paper Street Pictures has been working with Stuckmann since the beginning is also excited about the collaboration.

“For a film that had such a hard time getting going, it’s remarkable the doors that then opened to us,” said Koontz. “The success of our Kickstarter followed by the on-going leadership and guidance from Mike, Trevor, and Melinda is beyond anything I could have hoped for.”

Deadline describes the plot of Shelby Oaks as follows:

“A combination of documentary, found footage, and traditional film footage styles, Shelby Oaks centers on Mia’s (Camille Sullivan) frantic search for her sister, Riley, (Sarah Durn) who ominously disappeared in the last tape of her “Paranormal Paranoids” investigative series. As Mia’s obsession grows, she begins to suspect that the imaginary demon from Riley’s childhood may have been real.”

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

New ‘MaXXXine’ Image is Pure 80s Costume Core

Published

on

A24 has unveiled a captivating new image of Mia Goth in her role as the titular character in “MaXXXine”. This release comes approximately a year and a half after the previous installment in Ti West’s expansive horror saga, which covers more than seven decades.

MaXXXine Official Trailer

His latest continues the story arc of freckle-faced aspiring starlet Maxine Minx from the first film X which took place in Texas in 1979. With stars in her eyes and blood on her hands, Maxine moves into a new decade and a new city, Hollywood, in pursuit of an acting career, “But as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.”

The photo below is the latest snapshot released from the film and shows Maxine in full Thunderdome drag amid a crowd of teased hair and rebellious 80s fashion.

MaXXXine is set to open in theaters on July 5.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

News

Netflix Releases First BTS ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ Footage

Published

on

It’s been three long years since Netflix unleashed the bloody, but enjoyable Fear Street on its platform. Released in a tryptic fashion, the streamer broke up the story into three episodes, each taking place in a different decade which by the finale were all tied together.

Now, the streamer is in production for its sequel Fear Street: Prom Queen which brings the story into the 80s. Netflix gives a synopsis of what to expect from Prom Queen on their blog site Tudum:

“Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.” 

Based on R.L. Stine’s massive series of Fear Street novels and spin-offs, this chapter is number 15 in the series and was published in 1992.

Fear Street: Prom Queen features a killer ensemble cast, including India Fowler (The Nevers, Insomnia), Suzanna Son (Red Rocket, The Idol), Fina Strazza (Paper Girls, Above the Shadows), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Cinnamon), Ella Rubin (The Idea of You), Chris Klein (Sweet Magnolias, American Pie), Lili Taylor (Outer Range, Manhunt) and Katherine Waterston (The End We Start From, Perry Mason).

No word on when Netflix will drop the series into its catalog.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading