Drew Marvick, directed, wrote, starred and wore a few other hats during the production of this fun and bloody passion for the slasher subgenre. He implemented the three key aspects often found in these movies nudity, sex and violence (not necessary in that order, but very common) all to make a slasher standout among countless other variations that saturate the market each year. However aside from bloodshed it references themes from The Slumber Party Massacre (1982), a vivid poster all accomplished on a minuscule budget, he handles everything with a key design of an 80s throwback yet keeping very modern. Anytime a horror fan sees the word ‘massacre’ in the title it usually amps one up to giddy level, and Marvick delivers in many degrees complete with a lot of details, while not flawless, extremely fun for the gore-hounds.
The film opens with a scene between Mrs. Stevens (played by Leanna Vamp) and pool boy (Cameron Lee Vamp) and suddenly within 3-minutes of a killing done in the classic stalking POV (point-of-view) a subtle reference to Shocker (1989). However, the main story switches to spoiled Blair Winthorpe (Kristin Noel McKusick) and her friend, Nancy (Margaux Neme) , planning a pool party at her house while her parents are away for the weekend. They invite over some friends (known as upping the future body count), which includes Tiffany (Alexis Adams), Brittany (Crystal Stoney), Jasmine (Destiny Faith Nelson), and Kelly (Jenifer Marvick) relaxing on a summer day. The film quickly sets in motion, a campy and cheesy massacre to delight some making others groan in agony, providing the T&A, always necessary for this type of picture. The viewers likely to battle as to which of these increasing snobbish ladies, need to exit the set sooner than later and in the most bloody manner possible. Nevertheless, these women truly dominate the screen, ratcheting up the annoyance dial and tallying a cliché indicator for the horror fans to enjoy, just like Scream (1996). A few male roles appear, purely as more fodder for the killer, such as obnoxious Nick Byer as Clay, who actually reminded me of the character Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid, from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation), his goofy insanity works well to a point. Then his character hits that level of ‘oh god just die’ from his strange “Ferris Bueller” theory, which feels it just pads the running time to his final moment of getting off the set. Meanwhile other minor characters appearances find themselves gutted very quickly from the production.
The body count delivers enough to make it the proper size for a massacre, with some eventful killing, such as using various weapons to finish off the cast. In fact, the selection of tools used, fairly common, then Turing them into weapons reminds one of Friday the 13th, Part VII: The New Blood’s work-shed and a nod to the Driller Killer (1979).
Brian Mills’ cinematography gives wonderful shots all nicely framed for Marvick’s first feature flick and plays very well with the POV visuals for the audience to enjoy. These shots work flawlessly very steady providing quality framing often getting the best of limited special effects. Speaking of the department, it struggles, especially in regard of the blood, it varies from spot to extreme pale and watery, a tad shocking since it was Christopher Arredono who has a solid footing in the horror genre, his first film Pitchfork (2016). In addition to very minor sound issues, that effect dialogue, although one area needing improvement is storyline connections, known as establishment shots, which occurs with Mrs. Stevens suddenly appearing on the lounge chair, also a few continuity items. This film obviously created with favors, friends and fun, from having adult film Alexis Adams to the director using his own home (nice place) as the killing zone, along with coaxing his wife Jenifer into the flick only show her learning a new way to keep her mouth closed.
This is a fast-paced slasher flick, adding a twist into the tired genre, and a few refreshing throwback elements, with nothing more than pure time-waster and enjoyable romp for gore-hounds, splatterpunks and horror fans to enjoy the fun pleasure with campy enjoyment.
https://www.facebook.com/poolpartymassacre/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5923752/
IMDb Rating: 5.6/10
Baron’s Rating: 5.5/10