Horror Movie Review: Killer Bash (2005)

If you’re familiar with David DeCoteau as a director, you’ll already have an idea of what Killer Bash will be like. His range varies from terrible to passable with Killer Bash firmly sitting in the middle. However, his movies are often remembered for the homo-eroticism, something that also ranges from subtle to over the top.

Now let’s clear this up right at the start…we do not care if a horror movie has topless women, topless men, full frontal nudity of either sex and so on. As long as it makes sense in the context of the story, it’s fine. We watched and reviewed Hellbent, a movie that is considered to be the first gay slasher movie. Simply put, it doesn’t matter and after years of women being sexualised on screen it’s a nice change of pace to have men sexualised on screen. If we have to have it, full stop.

What we care about is good horror. You can flash as many boobs or dongs in our faces as you want as long as by the end we can say ‘yeah, that was a good horror movie’. That is not the case with Killer Bash though. It’s a below average snorefest that does nothing really wrong but nothing right either.

The plot is standard stuff opening with a flashback to when a nerdy college kid was accidentally killed by a load of rich and important bullies. Realising that this death will not just destroy them but their families names too, they decide to cover it up and hide the body.

30 years later…

Those murdering frat boys have all had sons who attend the same school now. Of course, they’re a bunch of meatheads who mock those who don’t have chiselled looks and six-packs while bullying the weak.

One such nerd is Becky (Raquel Riskin) who just wants to be liked and popular but is humiliated by the popular females and ignored by the frats. That is until she finds a ring, a ring that belonged to the murdered nerd at the start.

This ring has an effect on her. When she puts it on, she finds herself feeling more confident. Shedding her ‘ugly’duckling’ look which begins to turn frat heads towards her.

However, there’s more to this change then even Becky realises. A spirit wants revenge for what happened to it 30 years before. Through her, it will attempt to punish the sons of those responsible.

It’s not very good but not for lack of trying. You see, where Killer Bash fails is with the really important part of horror, namely actual horror.

Becky’s possession isn’t done well at all, she doesn’t exude threat when the spirit is in control and the demonic voice that occasionally crops up from her just sounds silly. Those expecting a Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II style affair will be very disappointed as this film has next to no gore.

The deaths in this film are awful and include one of the frat lads dying from a peanut allergy. Woah, easy now David DeCoteau, wouldn’t want to get that R/18 rating now would you!?

The acting is fine. Nothing to really be outraged about. Even though the characters are so one-dimensional the writers should be ashamed. Forget remembering names here. Most are just interchangeable attractive people. This goes double for the male side of the cast. Who sure do love getting shirtless and pouring booze down their chests. All while forcing a couple of would be frat-newbies to drink while on their knees.

It’s hot, if that’s your thing. Not important to the plot but when has that ever mattered to DeCoteau?

Perhaps the thing that makes Killer Bash really sink into the mire though is how nonsensical the plot is. It requires some serious leaps in logic and even horror needs to make sense. Killer Bash just doesn’t and has far to many coincidences to take seriously.

Perhaps that wouldn’t be such a problem if it was playing it all for laughs or was gleefully gory but it’s not. It’s a serious film, told in a serious way which inevitably lets it down.