Kill Theory (2009)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Chris Moore

Writer (WGA):

Kelly C. Palmer (written by)

Release Date:

2009 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Deep down... we're all killers.

Plot:

Whilst celebrating a graduation at a secluded vacation home, a group of college students find themselves targeted by a sadistic killer who forces them to play a deadly game of killing one another in order to survive.

Plot Keywords:

Twist | Psycho | Murder

Cast

Don McManus	...	Dr. Karl Truftin
Ryanne Duzich	...	Amber
Teddy Dunn	...	Brent
Daniel Franzese	...	Freddy
Agnes Bruckner	...	Jennifer
Patrick Flueger	...	Michael
Steffi Wickens	...	Nicole
Theo Rossi	...	Carlos
Taryn Manning	...	Alex
Kevin Gage	...	Killer

Also Known As:

Killers (USA) (working title)
Last Resort (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language and some sexual content.

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Cheyenne Studios - 27567 Fantastic Lane, Castaic, California, USA

Company:

BenderSpink

One of the best DTV slashers around...

'Kill Theory' opens up with a psychiatrist interviewing a mental patient in his office about a rock-climbing incident which fatally killed his friends and left him as the sole survivor. We only hear the voice of the man in this scene, and because of his good behavior, he is released from hospital. Cut to a group of friends (including Agnes Bruckner, Teddy Dunn) celebrating a graduation at a remote vacation home. Sex, drugs, fun and partying is what they are looking for, but instead, they find themselves forced to play a deadly game of survival by the same man from the hospital, who forces them to kill each other one by one.

Kill Theory was originally slated for a theatrical release from Lionsgate Films, and now has a DVD and theatrical release in Russia. It absolutely confuses me why a solid little slasher movie like this gets poor treatment from Lionsgate, but then again they are the same people responsible for giving the great "Midnight Meat Train" a very poor theatrical release and giving the god-awful "Disaster Movie" a wide theatrical release. Kill Theory has great production values and doesn't look cheap at all, and if gone to theaters, would have probably done pretty good - so Lionsgate screwed themselves over, again!

Kelly Palmer, first-time screenwriter, has proved to have writing talent with this movie and he did a very good job. The acting from the cast was solid, and I particularly loved Teddy Dunn's performance in the movie - he stood out to me. Horror stars Agnes Bruckner (Vacancy 2), Kevin Gage (Amusement) and Taryn Manning (The Breed) give solid performances also, as well as the rest of the cast. The movie also has some pretty solid death scenes (which are brutal) and it feels like a slasher movie with guns at times. My favorite kill would have to be the "ownage" by the shovel - great kill! The death order is very unpredictable also, and the ending was shocking. Does everyone die? Do they beat the killer? Does the lead die? Does the least-likely character live? All I can say is, I was shocked.

The movie also had a "Saw" feel to it, with the killer communicating via tapes, mentioning survival, using traps and such. I think it's safe to say this was probably inspired by Saw somehow, but it's not a rip-off, unlike the horrible "Are You Scared?" (2006). The only things that I didn't really like about Kill Theory was the fact that Daniel Franzese (Mean Girls, Cruel World) character was incredibly annoying in this movie with his whining and screaming, and the fact that Carly Pope (Yeti: Curse of The Snow Demon) and Edwin Hodge (Mandy Lane) are only featured in photograph/newspaper clippings and don't have an actual roles - disappointing.

Kill Theory is furthering my proof that movies that get dumped to DVD are definitely improving than they used to be, let's say, ten years ago. DTV films are getting better and better in terms of all around film-quality, and some of them are even better than some of the crap we get in theaters (Uwe Boll movies, Disaster Movie, lame Asian remakes). Kill Theory is a cool little slasher flick with lots of violence, a good plot and strong performances, which was mistreated by Lionsgate. I definitely recommend this.

7/10