Pool Party Massacre (2017) User Reviews

This Pool Party just kind of floats

[huffmanhorrors · 4/10 · 24 February 2018]

After the online Facebook hype and the rave reviews, much like the film "Don't F**k in the Woods," I was looking forward to seeing this. It is an 80's tribute film, same things MANY low budget people are doing today. So much so that it has ALMOST worn out it's welcome and I LOVE 80's movies. This one has some nice production value and a nice look, even if some of the basics of film production seem to be ignored. And when a film uses a tagline promoting itself in the same breath as "Slumber Party Massacre" you had better deliver. It ALMOST gets it and then takes a nosedive off the deep end of the pool.

Why do almost all low budget films today have to have a group of people who are so nasty. First of all, they are all the same characters. Over and over. And the writers always make me hate them. Terrible people. I have no emotional investment at all in any of them. This is what the originals did right. Watch Halloween, Slumber Party Massacre and Prom Night. Why did I like them? I found people to care about. Even Terror Train and Motel Hell gave us defined characters. It is one thing to want to make a tribute to those films, but these low budget teams today are missing the vital points. They copy the music, they try and outdo the gore, they steal the formula. But they don't get it at all. Maybe when they are better at their craft.

I watched a PG film, Happy Death Day along with this. And I loved it. I normally hate PG movies, especially horror movies. If it would have been gorier, it would have been perfect. The same with Final Girls from a few years ago. Too tame in the gore for me, but great movies. Really good writing. This movie could have been as good, and should have been, but the writing let it down. And the gore. This film should have really went all out with the gore. I wanted to love this, but it was not bloody enough and I had no one to care about.

Still, I do see promise in the film. I would like to see what this team can do as they get better and have a few movies under their belts.

Not your target audience, with that said...

[travisjamesivey · 4/10 · 8 June 2020]

As an Independent filmmaker, I thought the lighting, sound, cinematography and sound mix was well. I rated down because I was too fawn of the performances, story, or script. I am not your typical person who enjoys this genre. I watched it because for the resources they had, I was curious on how it looked overall. I didn't like it and I most won't watch it again but I did recommend it to people I know that love this kind of material, and they loved it! I would watch this director's material again to see how he feeds his niche audience. Overall, well done.

not great low budget slasher

[twesterm-10433 · 3/10 · 28 September 2022]

There's nothing groundbreaking here-- girl throws a pool party, uninvited guys show up, and people start dying. The kills are fun and the movie is cheesy in that special camp sort of way you want it to be.

My biggest problem with the movie is after people start dying, you expect someone to eventually notice and the remaining people have to react. That doesn't really happen until the last 10 minutes with the final girl in this movie. One-by-one each character finds a reason to go off alone and the killer picks them off. It's fun at first, but by about the half way point it's just killing characters you already don't care about.

When it gets to the last few remaining characters, you really just want it to be over. The kills are cheap and fun but it begins to wear thin by the end and the characters aren't nearly enough to carry the movie all the way through.

Low budget campy slasher not worth it

[Floated2 · 2/10 · 4 May 2021]

With these types of low budget horror comedy type slasher films we can get a sense of how they will be, and not to expect much. However the acting from most of the cast is weak and the dialogue feels very awkward and not normal. For instance; one of the opening scenes involving the lead character and her parents- people don't speak and act like this. If it was intended for laughs, it didn't work as it came off as cringe and just bizarre.

Nothing special about this film but the ending does give a twist that one did not see coming. The final 7 minutes or so make the overall film a little more satisfying as once that twist occurs we get a sense as to why the lead character was acting the way she was. And we start thinking back and piecing together clues which lead to this.

Overall, there was no sympathy towards the characters and their deaths as they were all annoying and unlikeable- so once their eventual deaths came. We did not care. Not even the death scenes are great- they simply reek of being low budget.

Fun Throwback to the VHS Days

[Michael_Elliott · 25 July 2017]

Pool Party Massacre (2017)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Throwback to the 80's slasher film takes place at a rich girl's parents house. The rich girl is throwing a party for her rich friends and pretty soon they're being knocked off my an unknown person who is using various tools from the garage.

POOL PARTY MASSACRE is a throwback to an era where it was cool to have "Massacre" in your title. The entire film from writer-director Drew Marvick is a throwback to the days when dumb characters did dumb things and often paid for it with their lives. As was the case with many of those films, this one here plays up the mystery angle as we're given a few suspects but we have to wait until the end for the result.

Unlike a lot of the slashers from the 80's, this one here goes a bit over-the-top when it comes to the humor. The film has some funny and campy moments and there's no doubt that the film is giving a wink to the viewers who are fans of the films it's inspired by. With that said, I think the film tried to be a bit too clever and a bit too "ha ha" for its own good. The girls at the party are played up as very annoying valley girls and they are a bit too annoying.

With that said, the film has a lot to offer and where it really succeeds are with the death scenes. As I stated, there are a variety of tools used for the murders and thankfully not everything is CGI. There are some practical effects and it was nice seeing actual fake blood. There's nothing more annoying than seeing a bunch of CGI blood and thankfully we've got the real stuff here. The death scenes are creative and fun even though they're certainly not in the same league as a Tom Savini.

POOL PARTY MASSACRE is a film that works for what it is. It's not a masterpiece or even an overly good film but as far as a spoof goes, it's pretty darn entertaining.

One of the worst films I have ever seen.

[Stenun · 1/10 · 29 September 2019]

This is not a film written by someone who has ever heard real people speak naturally. This is not a film acted in by anyone who has ever seen someone act naturally. This is not a film directed by someone who has ever seen real people do ANYTHING naturally. Lousy dialogue, lazy plotting, indistinguishable characters, tedious pacing, boring murders. I can't think of a single redeeming feature about this film.

It doesn't even have enough sense to make the potential victims likable so the badly filmed murders are for most part a relief as each one kills off another annoying character we no longer have to put up with.

Avoid.

Okay indie slasher

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 29 May 2018]

POOL PARTY MASSACRE is a typical indie slasher flick with a throwback vibe to the 1980s. The emphasis is very much on gory death, stalking killers, and random nudity tossed in from obliging young actresses. The plot is inconsequential, involving a pool party that's invaded by a mystery killer, the characterisation negligible. Still, it's fast paced and has a certain atmosphere, which is more than you can say for most of this genre.

You'll Hope Everyone Dies

[deborahrighetti · 4/10 · 25 January 2021]

A spoiled rich girl throws a pool party for her equally spoiled friends once her parents are away and they're killed one by one with a variety of sharp tools in between scenes of charmless, shrill complaining.

Pool Party Massacre is well made and well intentioned and is at least smart enough to not let its threadbare plot drag past the 80 minute mark, but the characters we're stuck with are some of the whiniest and most shrill people you'll ever spend time with. There's not a redeemable one in the bunch and you'll be twiddling your fingers, waiting for them to get killed.

If you're just in it for the nudity and gore, you're in luck, because Pool Party Massacre does supply more than its fair share of that.

A silent killer crashes a pool party in Las Vegas

[Wuchakk · 4/10 · 20 February 2020]

In swanky suburban Las Vegas, a group of girls have a pool party and a couple of dudes show up. Unfortunately a mysterious slayer, who uses various yard tools to do his gruesome work, puts the kibosh on the proceedings.

"Pool Party Massacre" (2017) is a micro-budget Indie that only cost around $7000 and it's amazing that a fairly entertaining slasher can be made for that low amount. To keep the costs down, the writer/director shot it at his impressive abode in the suburbs of Las Vegas.

The acting of the no-name actors isn't bad considering what they got paid, as long as you don't mind campiness and the fact that their characters are all unlikable, except one. Their lines are delivered in a rat-a-tat-tat manner, as if they were reading from a teleprompter, yet I was impressed with the work that was put into the wordy script even though the characters are disagreeable which, let's face it, was intentional.

Speaking of which, the writer/director satirizes the slasher formula and includes all the main staples. In the female department curvy Alexis Adams as blonde Tiffany is the most attractive, but Margaux Némé as Latino Nancy wins the day in all-around beauty. The movie scores pretty well on this front.

While the one-dimensional setting, low-budget vibe and distasteful characters/antics limit the flick and lower my grade, it moves right along and has quality kills/gore if that's your thang. I was also pleased with the proverbial final girl.

The movie runs 1 hour, 21 minutes, and was shot in Las Vegas.

GRADE: C- (but compared to other spare change slashers that cost around the same amount, it rates much higher)

Cool campy slasher

[poegrimmpodcast · 6/10 · 30 November 2019]

Really did enjoy this film, it was fun , imaginative and the acting was not bad. If you enjoy B-Movies you will really dig this feature.

Cool Slasher Movie

[chrismj11 · 10/10 · 29 September 2018]

Just got done watching this and thought I'd write a little review. Fun little film which was actually pretty funny and not in a so bad it's good way either! Funny script, inventive kills, hot chicks and some sick Heavy Metal tunes. I grabbed my copy from Fopp in London just on the great cover art alone and was really happy with what I got! Check it out

A mostly fun tribute to 80s slasher horror

[MonsterVision99 · 7/10 · 16 August 2020]

While it may suffer a bit from intentionally unlikable characters, a micro-budget, referential humor, odd performances and annoying parts that drag too long. Pool Party Massacre actually delivers a pretty good experience of gory deaths, an interesting twist and an all around fun 80's slasher film vibe.

Even when 80's inspired slasher movies are sort of overdone, I can still reccomend the film for those who like the genre as it does enough to pull off some of the beats quite well. A good one, just not one of the best.

A decent throwback to the slashers of the 80s

[matty-m · 7/10 · 8 April 2019]

Really enjoyed it, as a fan of 1980s slashers, I appreciate the homage it portrays to them. And while the acting isn't brilliant, it's a really good fun and decent amounts of gore to satisfy horror fans.

Slumber Party Massacre meets Mean Girls

[kaizutetsuya · 8/10 · 9 July 2017]

Great early 80's homage slasher flick updated to fit the younger audience of today but manages to put a smile on this older slasher fan. It's an indie film but the passion is there and one can tell the creators had fun filming this one. It's hard making up new ideas for any slasher film these days but this film manages to push the right buttons. Doesn't do anything new but the flow and pacing of the film does way better than the crap we see in today's big budget slasher flicks.

Somewhat enjoyable indie genre effort

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 6/10 · 6 October 2020]

Left alone for the weekend, a woman and her best friend decide to invite their friends over for a pool party at her house, but when a strange killer crashes their get together and begin to kill them one-by-one they have to discover the secret of his rampage to get away alive.

This was a pretty decent if flawed slasher. When this one works, it's due to the rather fun and simplistic storyline that's a fantastic setting for a one-note slasher. Getting the group together alone at the house and featuring reasonable enough excuses to get them all alone, there's a lot to like here in that regard as the idea of everyone getting away for a random period to commit the murders. This setup gives the scenes of the killer standing in the shed looking over the next tool to use or watching the group in the distance with some suspense. As well, there's some fun to be had with those tools being put to use which has some enjoyable moments here. The use of the tools and the aftermath they leave is quite fun with the brutal and graphic kills throughout here, especially some of the more obscure tools being utilized in these scenarios. That gives off some great kills with the solid splatter on display while giving us enough to like until it gets to the third act where it switches into a more enjoyable traditional slasher with decent stalking scenes and a series of decent twists in regards to the killer and motivation for everything, making this have some likable elements. This one has some issues. The most obvious flaw is the completely unlikable and unsympathetic main group who are absolutely not worth following around. Beyond one character who's somewhat humanistic, the rest of the cast is unlikely to engender anything other than swift and immediate death. They're vapid, shallow, moronic, unrelatable and offer nothing of any importance while the men are sexist, even dumber and really try the viewer's patience waiting for them to stop with their pointless banter to go off and get killed. The last issue is the somewhat contrived and unbelievable scenario that comes into play here. That the number of deaths that take place at the location, not even just the initial kills but the later scenes of the rampage against the partygoers comes off as quite improbable. That this could be carried out and not discovered as noticed here, especially due to the gory mess left behind which no one seems to notice despite entering the area moments later, is highly illogical although could be seen as an individual preference. These are what hold this one down overall.

Rated Unrated/R: Extreme Graphic Language, Graphic Violence and Nudity.

Stupid, but pretty good campy slasher movie.

[HorrorDisasterGuy-90617 · 7/10 · 18 August 2023]

This movie is incredibly stupid, but it have some cheesy fun to be with it. The story is pretty generic for a slasher movie goes, but I like how the movie feels like a 80's slasher movie. It have a campy feel to it with its corny dialogue and stuff that you see in a 80's slasher movies. The movie never takes itself seriously and it has fun with its material it have in it for a entertaining watch. And I found the twist to be unexpected on who is the killer of the movie.

Just like many slasher movies, the movie is pretty predictable to easily guess what happened next and the pacing isn't that good because current scenes feels like it dragging on a little bit too long. I also found the comedy to be really force in current areas in the movie, but there are a couple of funny lines and scenes in it.

It does it's job well

[jmcdonaldnp · 10/10 · 29 June 2021]

No, it's not Spielberg, but why would you think that. It's a slasher movie. It's a good slasher movie. If that's what you want, then this is the movie for you.

A fun throwback to 80s horror movies

[mizarkfnords · 7/10 · 13 March 2022]

The title says it all. It's fun, not high art. Quite a bit of camp and a killer reveal I honestly did not see coming until right as it was about to happen. I will have to say there's a very huge trend in recent years to make almost every character in this genre unlikable to the point that the viewer won't care what happens to them. This film is no exception with only one in the group who seemed to have any redeeming qualities at all. I'm not sure if this is a commentary on society in general or just a template for wiring these films that's gotten out of hand.

Flawed, yet enjoyable

[alexander-43448 · 6/10 · 6 December 2021]

The writing and acting is far from perfect but fit this Indie Slasher flick. There's a ton of fun to be had with this movie, and is yet another great throwback to the great slasher era of the 80s. The most important part is the kills, which are creative, with the choose your weapon type ordeal after every kill. The stalking scenes are good, plot is easy to follow and does not drag out, and the twist at the end is interesting and well twisty. The characters are a bit shallow and well not very likable. Which I suspect is done by purpose so that we will of course joy at their demise and root for the final girl. Still they sometimes get rather nasty to each other, sometimes irritating and other times it's a bit fun. Lastly I want to state out that the camera work is competent with some rather artistic scenes here and there, for the most part with the blood scenes, creative camera work on the kills and some just plain decent to good shots. The movie isn't the worst Slasher out there, and if you're into Slasher's I would recommend giving it a watch. It's a rather fun watch, but it is not the best Indie movie out there. Still it has it's charm and enjoyability.

This movie was way better than I thought it would be...

[cjmarvick · 10/10 · 16 June 2017]

Seriously, this movie was way better than I thought it would be. I don't know what that means exactly, maybe I expected it to be horrible, but it wasn't. It was the opposite of horrible. In fact I really enjoyed it. I laughed, I cringed, I covered my eyes in fear. (ok it was more embarrassment than fear) If you are the kind of person that enjoys campy B horror films full of blood soaked beautiful women in peril, than this is the perfect movie for you. Pool Party Massacre evokes the spirit and feeling of an 80s horror film but set in modern time, which is something I am not sure a lot of people have pulled off this well. So grab a cocktail, lower your expectations and throw on Pool Party Massacre. You won't regret it. Oh, did I mention my son made this movie. Maybe that's why I expected it to be so horrible. (just kidding Drew)

She is Still on the Phone

[mikeledo · 8/10 · 1 July 2017]

This is a spoof of 80's slasher films, although it uses a lot of 70's stuff. First the blood looks like watered down tomato soup instead of the thick rich dyed Karo syrup. The opening scene was a spoof of 70's adult films with music. Also the horror music was distinctively 70's while the rest of the film was 80's. Blair (Kristin Noel McKusick) invites her catty friends over for a pool party as one by one they get killed by a tool from a neatly made peg board. A few of the jokes didn't work, while most of the dialogue was over-the-top. The film could have done without Clay (Nick Byer) who supplied us with humor that tried too hard. The acting was great when the dialogue wasn't serious. And it was extremely bad when it was serious. Fortunately that was just one scene.

Guide: F-word, implied sex, sex talk, nudity (adult film star Alexis Adams, Destiny Faith Nelson)