To start off, I extend my deepest gratitude to Floating Eye Films and Drew Marvick, the writer and director of the movie, for granting me early access to the internet screener of the movie Pool Party Massacre. In the film ‘Pool Party Massacre’ Kristin Noel McKusick, who makes her acting debut, plays the character Blair who along with her friend Nancy, Margaret Neme, is planning a pool party at her house while her parents are away for the weekend. She also invites young socialites Tiffany (the gorgeous Alexis Adams), Jasmine (Destiny Faith Nelson), Brittany (Crystal Stoney), and Kelly (Jenifer Marvick). When the party is at its peak, things take an unsettling turn when a masked killer emerges and begins slaughtering the attendees one after the other. Nick Byer, Mark Justice, LeeAnna Vamp, and Drew Marvick are also included in the cast. The last time I checked, there were a still dozen things left to be done in Post Production, I heard about Pool Party Massacre, as I do many genre films, about 6 months ago and have since been certainly looking forward to it. It is almost here, I believe it is literally on the verge of shipping, but fortunately, I managed to work my way around Drew a little bit and got the screener earlier than expected.
My whole reasoning behind watching this movie is that it had a sick poster where people were getting killed at a pool party and others were getting slaughtered! What more do I need to know? It’s a slasher.
I have to say that I liked the original poster art for Pool Party Massacre more than the new one, but I do think the new one is pretty cool too. The vibrant colors and the catchy lettering are bound to market this micro-budget slasher flick, even if only a little. It is clear from almost every aspect of the movie that Marvick is a long-time fan of the genre and its many subgenres. This isn’t a guy that said, “Hey, let me cash grab by making an homage to 80’s slashers.” He has put a lot of time and effort into this debut feature-length film and it shows. Drew is a student of what I call “Horror 101”, which usually means there are three aspects one should include in films of this nature: Nudity, Sex, and Violence. (Of course, the first two tend to come hand in hand, but the third is not usually done very well anyway.) Within 5 minutes of the opening scene, there is a death that is referenced and then a kill happens on-screen. The credits are entertaining, appearing like an old Sega video game and accompanied by synth tones. According to the post-credits information, the film was shot at Marvick’s house. If that is the case, I am extremely jealous.
What a stunning house. I could say the same about the overall scenery of the film because, well, it featured a stunning slasher, which funnily enough is something that is rarely associated with slasher films. I believe the budget for Pool Party Massacre was around $7000, which is bizarre because the production value is perhaps the best I’ve seen, taking into account the budget. The Mrs. Stevens scene with the pool boy had some amazing still frames that I really liked. DP Brian Mills can barely be called an experienced person, yet he directed this beautifully crisp-looking film. The shot choices are all amazing and the framing is refreshing. The ‘girls squad’ is walking in full, so we get the typical slow-motion shot as such scenes are often taken lightly nowadays. A good visual in one of the first scenes was the girl’s squad walking into the scene with the usage of focus pulls, tracking of the unseen killer while simultaneously covering the head of the victim from a tight overhead angle, and plastering a close-up of the weapon used for the kill.
Fans of that particular stalking device from the 80’s would definitely appreciate the amount of POV camera work there is in this film.
Considering everything I have just discussed, the audio track and foley were satisfactory. The one thing that is often hard to nail in low-budget filmmaking is perfectly synced sound effects and Rob Sholty’s color grading. Scenes internally look just as good as the externals, and the crew battled the natural light very well. The score was somewhat of a mixed bag but I’ve always been a bit of a sucker for the 8-bit synth stuff. It is well-balanced, so never does the music become overbearing. The other quirky synth and bass accompanies the killer during his appearance, which is something I liked. Now let’s get to the meat and bones of it all, shall we? (apologies for the pun) You would very much like to know the intriguing bits and the hilarious bits. There is no doubt that the eye candy is on display in Pool Party Massacre. All of the girls have their own style and they’re a good-looking group of women. The first one on screen is Vampwho, and the other two who caught my eye were Alexis Adams and Margaux Neme. Vamp looks as sexy as ever.
With confidence actresses carry themselves, and how they portray themselves while acting, is where my interest in Adams lies. Adams is truly captivating and her face and body certainly help. To be honest, I had no idea about her career in adult films before watching the movie. Her character in Marvick’s film was one of the only few mature characters, and as a Hispanic, Neme is indeed wonderful. I adored her the very second I encountered her. I also think Kristin did the best out of all actresses in the movie. As a main character, she did not let the fact that she had the most important role in the film affect her and absolutely nailed the part. She was very similar to another actress I know, Brittany Snow, who is known for her stunning portrayals. Her comedic timing and priceless facial expressions brought the film to life. I wouldn’t say she played a character that will go down in history, but her performance was impressive. Another two of Blair’s annoying and dimwitted “friends” were Nelson and Stoney. They too were decent and did not disappoint. In fact, Stoney has a very nice body and looks good in a bikini, while Nelson had to face a shower scene that requires some nudity.
The only other woman besides Adams who has undressed is her, and she has some nice curves. Well done to Destiny for making herself vulnerable.
It is pleasing to note that this is a woman-centric narrative largely told through women’s voices. Most of the male characters here are secondary ones (a rarity) and I like that Drew was willing to employ that into his writing. Humor is relative, but considering the cast’s limited experience, all performances were quite good. Some of the comedic scenes were a lot of fun, the humor in the opening scene comes to mind. It was executed mostly because of the juxtaposition of heavy metal music and, uh, porn music (for lack of a better word) and some funny cuts. A rather dim-witted pool boy is sitting with his headphones on, blaring heavy metal as the attractive neighbor tries to seduce him by rubbing ice all over her body and suggestively gyrating. I found scenes like that are funnier to me than any of the low-brow toilet humor gags that followed. Clay (Byer) was a character I initially thought was a crack-up. He arrives at the party with his brother, Troy (played by Justice) looking like Larry Wilson from Weekend At Bernies and attempting to chat up each of the girls.
Since he seems quite older than the group, Drew added a few humorous gags that were also pretty funny. Now, let’s move on to the more important bits. Well, since it is entitled as Pool Party Massacre then I guess the killing starts now, right? If you’re used to bigger-budget slasher films, then set pieces are not really an intricate feature in this indie. That’s not to say there isn’t any onscreen carnage, it’s just that there is only so much that can be done with such a low budget. The most positive thing Marvick did was introduce a killer that wields a bunch of weapons because, after all, variety is the spice of life. The body count is also sizeable and several of the kills are pretty inventive. It’s also nice to see that all the blood was done practically. In fact, my favorite killings have to be the two with a hammer and the one with scissors that looked like a hedge trimmer. While some prosthetic pieces would have elevated the movie even more, I understand that sometimes there are limits.
Just like any movie made on a budget, there are areas in which a learning lesson is required, and things do not flow smoothly. In Marvick’s film, there are noticeable rough patches where ADR was added to complement the on-set audio, which is common on low-budget independent shoots. But considering there was very little external noise and the whole film was shot in one location, I wouldn’t have thought they needed to add ADR at all. The score didn’t feel so heavy-handed as it did during some parts of the dialogue between Blair and Danny (I think it was?), but they definitely needed to do some tweaking to it. In all fairness, pulling Drew’s “Pool Party” from The Aquabats for the film’s soundtrack would have been wonderful too. There are a few minor problems with continuity scattered throughout the film and while all of them need work, there are some that stand out more than others. The blood’s color and consistency change a few times. It always looks better in the aftermath and pink and warm during the kills and all the changes in blood’s state are not something that is very easy to get one hundred percent right.
The pool that is being cleaned at the start of the movie could have used some more objects to make the cleaning process appear more realistic. Simultaneously, there’s an establishing shot of a deserted backyard and pristine pool, but in a few seconds, Mrs. Stevens is depicted relaxing on the deck without any actual transition. Drew should have had her exit through a sliding glass door and stroll over to the beach chair in order to preserve continuity. In another scene, Nancy dashes back into the same room she previously exited after some confrontation; you would imagine she would not go back there. (Realistically, this could be a self-referential editorial comment on American genre movie stereotypes, and perhaps it was.) Neme can also be observed breaking character and nearly laughing during the scene preceding that one. I thought the dialogue in the second half leaned more toward the comedic side as opposed to horror, and for me, it didn’t work. The writing gets a little more vulgar than what I prefer, crossing the line instead of simply being suggestive in sexual nature given the atmosphere of the film.
Tiffany, along with the other characters, indulges in excessive profanity that is needless. Some scenes appear to be funny at first but become dull rather quickly. The combination of Clay’s “Ferris Bueller” theory and the masturbation scene was so far-fetched and awkward in a way that is uncomfortable for the audience. By the end of the movie, I found Clay annoying and wanted him to be removed from the film as soon as possible.
I lost count of how many movies I’ve watched or reviewed that have the word “massacre,” but safe to say it is a lot. Drew Marvick’s Pool Party Massacre was clearly made with a lot of love and DiYness both, to an appropriate degree that it does get a fair amount of attention. They, like me, are also suckers for nostalgia aesthetics of the 80s, and that is why it pleases me to say that Drew did not miss an opportunity to release an extremely polished product that does high production value because it makes the fellow genre filmmakers have to raise their game as well. The film, in particular, is like a mix of “The Slumber Party Massacre” released in ’82 and Joe Hendrick’s traditional “Ditch Day Massacre”, but better. Marvin Get’s it. He knows and understands the importance of subtlety and those three key components that make a successful slasher, and he does pretty well for each of them. The opening credits are fun, the synth is upbeat, and color grading is done on point. My positive outlook goes towards Brian Mills’s cinematography. I will make an early call here and say this will be the best-looking independent-shot horror movie of 2017. Fellow filmmakers take note, this is how you compose shots, pull focus, and transition between them seamlessly.
The location definitely helps because the house and yard are gorgeous as well. Kristin and Alexis are best when they perform comedy together but the rest of the girls get their scenes and so does Nick Byer. To be honest, the effort all around is quite solid. When it comes to nudity and violence, Pool Party Massacre has a glut of it, and by the way, I think a spade is one of those weapons that make an appearance but are not used. The slew of kills is mostly on the lower end of the spectrum, getting most of the damage done via off-screen means, and the crimson gushes steadily, while the movie comes to a conclusion with the smallest of budgets. Sure, there are some technical and continuity issues here and there, and a good chunk of dialogue that I plain did not like. Some jokes just come off as awkward and not funny but this is still a mighty fine effort by Drew and his cast and crew. Pool Party Massacre does have some heart, and if you are a fan of low-budget affairs and you happen to be a slasher fan, then you need to look no further! I mean come on, look at the description and make sure to check the trailer out underneath. While you’re at it go ahead and pre-order the film on the official website and support the little guy!
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