Killer Party
Short description
Killer Party is a 1986 comedy-horror film about a group of college students who decide to hold a costume party in an abandoned fraternity house. Three young women hoping to join the Sigma Alpha Pi sorority are tasked with organizing an unforgettable celebration for the sisters, and the derelict house on campus seems like an ideal venue. What they do not account for is the building's violent past: years earlier, a pledge died there during a hazing ritual. A vengeful spirit connected to that death takes the promise of an unforgettable party literally, turning the April Fool's Day festivities into something far more dangerous.
The film was directed by William Fruet, its third feature behind Cries in the Night and Spasms, from a screenplay by Barney Cohen, with Michael Lepiner producing. Joanna Johnson, Elaine Wilkes and Sherry Willis-Burch play Jennifer, Phoebe and Vivia, the students at the center of the story, while Martin Hewitt, Ralph Seymour and Paul Bartel appear as Blake, Martin and Professor Zito. A Canadian-American co-production involving Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer alongside several smaller companies, it runs 92 minutes.
Reception has been modest over the years. On IMDb it holds a rating of 5 out of 10 from roughly 2,900 votes, and on TMDB it also sits at 5 out of 10, based on a much smaller pool of 64 votes. The two scores align closely, suggesting a film that audiences regard as a middling example of mid-1980s horror-comedy rather than a standout of the era.
What's left behind the scenes
- Before the film's release, MGM removed many of the violent scenes; as a result, the killings at the end of the film occur off-screen, and there is virtually no on-screen violence. These changes also affected the pacing of the finale, as the death scenes now occur one after another.
- The film was heavily cut by censors from the American Motion Picture Association (MPAA). As a result, many murders happen off-screen, and there is practically no violence on screen. Because of this, the filmmakers edited the film to give the impression that the murders happen one after another very quickly, almost consecutively, although this was not the case before the censors intervened.
- The working title was 'The April Fools,' but to avoid confusion with the film 'April Fool's Day,' released in the same year (1986), the title was changed to 'Killer Party'.
- Filming began in 1978, and just as it was nearly complete, work was suspended due to budget overruns. The film was not finished until 1984, yet it sat on the shelf for another two years before its theatrical release.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
