Customer Reviews

Murder Loves Killers Too

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Stop me if you've heard this one before. A group of buddies head for a cabin in the woods, their car breaks down and now a killer is picking them off one by one.

I was ready to turn this off when I realized we were down to the last girl and still had a half hour to go. There'd been no thrills, a bit of gore, a bit of nudity but really nothing to write home about.

But then, with about 30 minutes to go the movie abandoned the formula. The killer "Big Stevie" breaks character and starts chatting, and things get weird.

It's not enough to redeem this by the numbers slasher flick, but at least it's something.

I was very surprised when I saw this film. I would like to comment on all the good stuff but I don't want to give anything away either. I will say this: there are a couple of very shocking moments that go against every other slasher film you've ever seen (it's very refreshing), and when this flick starts to cook there is some definite tension that will keep you at the edge of your seat. And then there's that incredible ending.

This one is a winner. Check it out!!!!

Writer/director Drew Barnhardt's Murder Loves Killers Too (2009), is a low budget slasher, that delivers edgy suspense, bloody kills, cool camera work, along with a few surprises. Resources were limited, so the pace is brisk, in this thriller that runs just 70 minutes, before the credits start to roll.

The story is not an unfamiliar one, as five friends arrive at an isolated house in the wilderness for a weekend of fun, and almost immediately, bad things start to happen, as they fall victim to a mysterious stranger, who brutally begins to eliminate them, one by one. With the action tightly crammed into a small two storey dwelling, the feeling of danger is all around, and the suspense quickly builds to a peak. Soon, one young woman is alone, matching wits against a resourceful killer.

The cast may not have any big names, but the performances are not bad for a film of this type. Allen Andrews has the movie's key role, as the strange, detached killer, `Big Stevie'. What drives him is a mystery, but he has no problem with dispassionately slamming a meat hook into the back of a neck, hanging the body up, and doing a little butchery. He is also a very neat fellow, quickly tidying up the mess after a kill. Stevie undergoes several personality shifts, which radically changes the tone of the film, setting the stage for a dramatic finish. The other outstanding performance is by Christine Haeberman, who is very believable as Aggie, the last survivor. Although terrified, she manages to keep her head clear. She makes some questionable choices, that nearly seal her fate, but luck is with her, as Stevie gets careless. Although she really should not be wearing glasses in the final scene, most everything else about the character is spot on realistic.

Production values are quite good, except for some poor visibility, in some of the night shots. The hand held camerawork, use of odd angles and low shots, and extended takes, helps to give the film a quirky look. For example, the initial entry and exploration of the house, leading up to the first abduction, was done in one continuous three minute shot. The cozy setting in the house, adds to the feeling that the action is very close and confined. Another significant contributor to the film's effectiveness, is the original music by Ryan Franks. The score helps to create a spine tingling atmosphere, and the original songs help establish appropriate moods.

There is no commentary track, but there are a substantial number of extras, that provide some good background information, about the production of the film, and the cast. For his first feature film, director Barnhardt, freely admits that he borrowed from various other films in the genre, and apparently considered an insane number of alternatives, before choosing Murder Loves Killers Too, as the title. While the title may not be that meaningful, you probably won't soon forget this entertaining, offbeat thriller. Tight, and well crafted, the fast pace helps to minimize some of the flaws in the story. The abrupt ending may play to mixed reviews, but the unconventional detour is interesting.

This movie sucked on all possible levels- (SPOILERS) - the plot revolves around 5 despicable twenty-something's who go to a great mountain resort, see a car in the driveway (yet no one is concerned), 4 of the 5 are killed within the first 20 minutes by a guy who looks like he came to fix the plumbing and doesn't utter a word or show an expression on his face the entire movie, then plays cat and mouse games with a girl who couldn't look mousier.

He captures her, but of course she escapes- after all, she's about 90 lbs. to his 240 lbs., so it's a no-brainer. He gets her again, knocks her out, throws her in his car trunk (the one no one was concerned about earlier), drives home to his pathetic life, cheating wife and nerdy daughter, goes to bed, gets up the following morning, has breakfast and heads off to work, and for some reason decides to open his trunk, and viola! The titmouse kills him in his driveway - the end.

I can't begin to tell you how tired I am of seeing the tiny, fragile little titmouse female victim in a movie suddenly find the `inner strength' to rise above impossible odds and overtake her attacker when no one twice her size or strength could. Killers who do these crimes by profession and/or birthright and then get killed off stupidly at the end of these ridiculously bad horror flicks - it's the cinematic equivalent of a hamster overcoming and decimating a saber-tooth tiger... it's so friggin` far-fetched it makes my blood boil.

That's the kind of crap that ruined good movies like 'Frontiers' for me - the last 5 minutes when the writer and director decide to cop out on the audience that they've successfully strung along for an entire movie and deliver a preposterous ending rather than going for our jugular vein -that's the tepid state of most American horror these days, I'm sad to say.
There are lots of lame bonus features along with this tripe - these folks are so full of themselves that they think that they've REALLY delivered the goods to us, that they've done something more than waste 80 minutes of our time, and give us another 80 minutes of patting themselves on the back for doing so in the bonuses. You think the title is rather lame? There's even a featurette about the alternative titles for this swill and, believe it or not, the one they went with IS the best choice!!

This flick is indicative of EVERYTHING that's wrong with American horror films currently, and all I can ask you to do is avoid wasting your time and cash on this drivel. It's not even worth watching on cable, let alone renting...
I'd love to murder these killers of time too...

If you grew up on late night double features, you know that a good slasher film should have some 'fun' killings and some bare breasted girls. You should have a killer who doesn't have a hockey mask, knives for fingers or pins in his head - he should be an everyday guy who just happens to like killing the young and beautiful.

If you've looked at the cover and read the title, then you know that I haven't mentioned any spoilers. This movie is fun. It's the popcorn muncher you always hoped would be on after your parents went to sleep. If you enjoy the old school 'who-is-going-to-be-killed-next-and-how' genre - this film is for you. 2 severed thumbs up!

Also, there are extensive bonus features on this DVD. It really shows how the people who worked on this film worked within budget and made it happen. You'll hear from the stars, director, producer - and there is a great feature about the soundtrack. Kudos for including so much.

I suspect that those giving this five stars were part of the production team. There is nothing about "Murder Loves Killers Too" to make it something to seek out or to avoid. A group of us made pretty much this same slasher flick back in 2004 as part of a 48-hour film competition; where we wrote, shot, and edited everything in just 48 hours. So I could relate to the lameness; I could realize just how fortunate it was that we did not have the time to put together a lot of embarrassing special features like the ones on this DVD; and I could be thankful that we had someone on the team who grasped that production design could be more than mixing up a lot of fake blood and a personalized birthday cake. And given the audio quality I would have scrapped those special features in favor of a captioning option.

"Murder Loves Killers Too" (2009) demonstrates the old movie maker adage that you can't find a really good looking girl willing to take off her top in your movie, unless she is being paid. As the three unpaid females prance around early in the movie, it quickly becomes obvious that Lindy (Kat Szumski) is the keeper (the hot one with the great body), who should get the most screen time and should wear the least clothes; assuming the director has a clue about his target demographic. That Aggie (Christine Haeberman) fills out her jeans quite nicely and has an interesting face. And that Tamra (Mary LeGault) has a body that would benefit from more clothes and maybe a little liposuction. So guess who takes off her clothes? And guess who gets killed off almost immediately. And they wonder why these things can't find much of an audience.

There were two cool cuts to look for, one where Tamra lies down and the other where Stevie lies down; both of which then cut forward to the same shot, illustrating a passage of time without any sort of transition. Very nice.

The movie has good intentions and the cast and crew appear to have had a lot of fun making it, but it is student film quality without the strange quirks that make some of those films interesting. While the movie has some elements of obvious self-parody and is generally fun viewing, the overall production quality (from the staggeringly lame acting to the awkward and cheap staging) makes it hard to determine what is deliberate parody and what is just a mockfest moment.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

A very low budget thriller that reminds us of horror movies that were made in the 80s. The movie apparently had such a low production budget that the movie turned out to be only 70 minutes long. The premise is simple, throw a bunch of teens in a secluded retreat in the wood and then turn a deranged killer loose. Thrills start coming early and fast with the first murder happening in the first ten minutes of the movie. More gore and suspense follows with a neat twist and an apt ending.
The cast is not famous and neither is the director but what works for this movie is the cool camera work and some decent acting. The killer appears deranged but leads a double life. The last half hour offers an interesting twist. I give this movie about three stars 5/21/10

WOW!!!...this horror flick has heart! This is one of the best indie horror flicks I've seen in a long time! All you horror fans, young & old, MUST check out the ending PLEASE!!! It also comes with a cool mini-poster! I wish I was a talented reviewer so I could explain this flick a little better to you all. I don't really write very many movie reviews unless its a movie I love and must defend from other attackers haha. Just trust me on this one people! Oh, ignore my "The Strangers" movie review, that's my worst review yet ;)

In the grand scheme of things the film by itself probably rates 3 or 4 stars. But for what it is attempting and how well it achieves it I would give it 5. The filmmakers overcome their small budget with creativity and playing against expectations. There are several genuinely startling moments and some long scenes of prolonged suspense. This is more rare than I thought as I actually noticed how tense I was during a sequence and how uncommon that seems to be lately. So few films are genuinely suspenseful anymore. So few films surprise.

Those who are not fans of slasher movies might not see the ingenuity of this film, but they may still enjoy it. (They might be better off renting the film). Horror fans, however, are in for a treat and will likely want to make Murder Love Killers Too a part of their library.