Movie Review: Rave Party Massacre (2018)

Travel back…way back to the far flung past of 1992; there were no smartphones, no widespread internet usage…but what we did have was the ability to go to an ass cold warehouse dressed like a god damned idiot, gobble down some drugs, and dance to a bunch of whompa whompa garbage.
In Rave Party Massacre, a squabbling couple enter into a scenario exactly like the one mentioned above…in a sequence that runs a staggering seventeen minutes (bear in mind that this film runs an hour and sixteen minutes including credits)…that’s seventeen long, tedious minutes of dancing (punctuated by some dry humping and puking ‘natch). The couple (and a handful of other folks) awaken after the rave to find themselves hunted by a masked killer. And that’s about all she wrote plot wise (there is some “New world Order” malarkey bandied about too…which does add a bit of uniqueness to the affair, but basically that’s the long and short of it).
Let’s start with the good elements of Rave Party Massacre (and believe me this will be brief). This was a (kinda) passable slasher flick with so-so effects and a certain artistic flare (a scene with our heroine locked inside a box was handled amazingly well visually…so I know the film makers know what they are doing…I just wish there was more of this kind of thing rather than what we were presented with). And that is that…
On the opposite end of the spectrum; this film has severe pacing problems (yup, it’s that damn rave sequence I mentioned previously) which is an incredible misstep for a film that doesn’t even run an hour and a half. Next up, the killer’s identity is absolutely no surprise, so that rug is pulled out from under the film killing any sense of mystery. Additionally the characters are mostly unlikable sods (and are played by actors that are waaaay too old to be convincing young adults), so lots of luck caring if they live or die. Also the way the film is edited removes any visual punch from the violence at hand…and the sound mix on the screener I watched was dreadful (though admittedly that may change in the final release).
In an odd twist of fate, there is something that could be taken as a positive or a negative. There are fire effects in this film that are so atrocious I nearly pissed my pants from laughter…seriously, if you don’t have the means to pull something off even half way convincingly on your allotted budget, maybe you should rethink your screenplay.
If you absolutely have to see every slasher flick released, then give Rave Party Massacre a go…but for most, the problems inherent in this one will make it hard to enjoy.