Killer Yacht Party – DVD Review

DVD Reviews, Reviews

I’ve spent a lot of time with slasher films this past month. Most have been from the 1980s, when the slasher flick was king, but some have been more recent outings that pay homage to those films genre fans have come to adore. Killer Yacht Party, from Lloyd Kaufman’s Troma Entertainment, is one of the latter: a modern-day slasher film that exists because the filmmakers revere the ’80s horror scene. For better or worse, director Piotr Uzarowicz sticks closely to the established formula for the genre and Killer Yacht Party is stuffed with mediocre acting (for the most part), a slow-moving plot, and a questionable twist ending.

In Killer Yacht Party, Jane (Maggie Marion) has moved from Iowa to Los Angeles to start a new life as a songwriter. She lives with her sexy and promiscuous friend Lacy (Becky Boxer), who coaxes “Plain Jane” to accept an invite to a yacht party they’ve received. Unfortunately they don’t realize that the boat may be haunted until it’s too late. Years earlier a wife was supposedly killed by her husband on the yacht’s maiden voyage, and her spirit is still rumored to haunt anyone that comes on board. As the party continues, the drugs start kicking in and sex picks up in every corner of the yacht someone (or something) starts murdering the partygoers. Jane and Lacy are left fighting for their own survival.

The story has a lot of potential to bring something special to the slasher genre, but the yacht gimmick isn’t used to its fullest potential. The movie is obviously going for the supernatural slasher vibe, and a giant, supposedly haunted yacht is perfect fodder for “jump” scares but the director never takes advantage of this. There’s little to no tension as a result.

The other problem with the story is the obvious red herring that the writer and director try jamming down the viewer’s throat. This red herring is pushed more in Killer Yacht Party than in any other slasher film I’ve seen. It makes it obvious that this Character X is not the killer early on, again robbing the viewer of possible tension.

There is a wide range of acting talent seen in Killer Yacht Party. Marion does a nice job with her role, and is given the most developed character of the bunch. She is the type of girl most people would want to hang out with because she’s sweet, funny and has a Midwestern charm. Her best friend Lacy is the complete opposite, a total club girl. She has sex with anything that moves, wears clothes that show off her best features and is generally a terrible friend. Boxer plays one note throughout the entire film (the slutty seductress) but this is more a problem of the script than Boxer’s work. She is gorgeous, but that is the only memorable feature of her character.

The one actor who is consistently strong throughout is James C. Burns as the Captain. He is interesting and mysterious right from his introduction, drawing the audience towards him. His character isn’t deep but is perfectly acceptable for a slasher film. Burns builds one of the two memorable characters on the boat as it becomes why his resume is the deepest of all the cast members. Some of the other actors appear decent at first but fall apart when it comes to investing any sort of emotion, leaving it ring incredibly fake. This is the mark of a detached actor; if the actor isn’t connected with what is going on to their own character the audience can’t either.

Killer Yacht Party was shot on a low-budget, and this shows up most prominently during the kill scenes. I expect a lot of blood and gore from a movie when it is released from Troma Entertainment, but Killer Yacht Party doesn’t deliver. There is blood, but it is light, and the special effects are boring. A lot of the kills are edited so that the audience only sees the aftermath, which is exciting maybe once or twice. Gorehounds want to see the entire murder, not just the hook sticking out of the throat with a bit of blood. Before I popped Killer Yacht Party in my DVD player, I expected the special effects work to shine, but this aspect is one of the most underwhelming in the film.

Aside from a random killing in the beginning of the movie – which is never really explained – it takes a good hour before Killer Yacht Party takes off with the murders. If the buildup to this moment were more fulfilling for the audience, this wouldn’t be a problem. Instead, the viewer spends an hour getting to know a lot of soulless partygoers that are forgotten seconds after they’re murdered. Maybe with a stronger start, or a more justified/important killing at the top, the pace wouldn’t suffer as much as it does.

Killer Yacht Party reeks of another independent film that doesn’t live up to its potential, and is incredibly mediocre. Its use of a lot of standard slasher film stereotypes doesn’t make it worth watching. There are hundreds of other slasher films that exist merely to pay homage to that ’80s era of horror that are a lot better than Killer Yacht Party, and slasher fans should seek out those films instead of this lackluster effort.

Killer Yacht Party is given a widescreen presentation with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The DVD looks fine, but one will never forget that they’re watching a low-budget horror film. The 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo option works just as well because the film is not heavy on loud sound effects. The dialogue never gets lost either, which is enough for me to deem this audio option perfectly sufficient.

Commentary by Writer Alex Silver and Director Piotr Uzarowicz: These two have a great repartee, and are never at a loss for something to talk about. They go into detail about the casting of the film, and expose some secrets about the filming of the movie. This is a good commentary, and exactly what fans of Killer Yacht Party would want to hear.

Slideshow (0:24): Various still shots of the movie are shown for a whopping 24 seconds. This is an absolutely pointless special feature.

Trailer (2:17): This is a decent trailer for Killer Yacht Party that successfully nails the vibe of the film without giving away too much information.

Troma T & A (2:07): A woman messes up her lines for a minute, talking about things she obviously has no idea about (like Chaucer), and then takes her shirt off and “plays with [her] ta-tas” at Kaufman’s request.

Exclusive Preview from the Upcoming “Produce Your Own Damn Movie!” Box Set: Have Your Own Damn Base of Power (11:50): Subtitled “Creating a new Hollywood in Indiana with Bill Dever and Lloyd Kaufman”, this special feature is about a couple of guys who are trying to establish a film industry in the Midwest. This is fascinating for someone like me, who is constantly looking for acting work, and makes me hopeful that the Midwest will eventually become a hotbed for filmmaking. Dever may be the largest name in Indiana right now, but there are plenty of other people throughout the Midwest that are also trying to establish it as a serious contender in the movie making world. Seeing as this is my home region, it is exciting to hear Dever, and the others from the set (including Texas Chainsaw 3 director Jeff Burr), talk about his plans for the film, entitled Resurrection.

Hermaphrodite PSA (1:32): Lemmy from Motörhead hosts a silly PSA that stars Matt Stone and Trey Parker (the South Park creators). It is pro-hermaphrodite, and good for a quick chuckle.

Net Neutrality PSA (3:18): Lloyd Kaufman does his best to convince the viewer that net neutrality is positive, and he spits fire at the government. This is the most serious I’ve seen Mr. Kaufman, but there is still humor thrown in to keep it true to Tromatic fashion.

Radiation March (0:54): A “what the hell did I just watch” anti-pollution commercial featuring dancing kids in yellow jumpsuits, and a load of sunglass-wearing adults, moving their heads to the beat.

Troma Trailers (21:44): Includes trailers for The Toxic Avenger (3:11), Poultrygeist (3:16), Blood Junkie (2:01), There’s Nothing Out There (2:30), Blood Oath (1:48), Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. (3:36), Tromeo & Juliet (2:12), and Class of Nuke ‘Em High (3:10).

The Toxic Avenger tells the tale of a dork turned superhero that, despite his grotesque looks, saves his town from the bullies and bad guys that used to kick his ass; Poultrygeist is about a giant killer chicken; Blood Junkie is an 80s slasher throwback, filmed today, using 80s costuming; There’s Nothing Out There is an early Scary Movie/mockumentary film that looks hilarious; Blood Oath is another 80s slasher throwback, but set today; Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. is about a detective who turns Japanese and becomes a superhero; Tromeo & Juliet is a modern, Tromatic take on Willy Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedy; Class of Nuke ‘Em High tells the tale of a high school that is slowing turning toxic, both literally and figuratively.

All of the trailers look interesting for different reasons, and are excellent additions to any Troma release.

This mediocre slasher film is one that I would only mildly recommend if it were available OnDemand or through Netflix’s Instant Queue service, but nobody should go out of his or her way to see this movie. The special features from Troma are great, but the ones that apply directly to the movie are hit or miss. Killer Yacht Party fails to stand out in any dramatic way, and I am stuck encouraging slasher fans to look elsewhere for his or her next bloody fix.


Troma Entertainment presents Killer Yacht Party. Directed by: Piotr Uzarowicz. Starring: Maggie Marion, Becky Boxer, and James C. Burns. Written by: Alex Silver. Running time: 85 minutes. Rating: Not Rated. Released on DVD: May 10, 2011.


Branden Chowen is, first and foremost, an actor. He is in his final year of graduate school, where he will (hopefully) soon receive an MFA in acting to compliment his BFA in the art. He spends his free time watching and reviewing movies for Inside Pulse Movies, and We Love Cult. He is also one of the co-hosts for The Drive-In, which is the official podcast of Inside Pulse Movies. He is an avid horror fan, and will spend time watching just about any horror movie that looks interesting. You can contact Branden by email at bchowen[AT]insidepulse[DOT]com, or follow him on Twitter @Psymin1.