User Reviews

A man makes a life and death decision that leads the the death of three of his friends. He's jailed, undergoes treatment and eventually released but told by some arrogant doctor who oversees his treatment that no sane person would ever make such a decision. The man goes on to test this out by seeking out the doctor's son and the son's friends who are vacationing at an isolated country home, trapping them in the house and forcing them to make a similar life and death decision.

For the most part everything is fair and competent: acting, direction dialogue, visual and audio. And, there are some disturbing but well-done gore scenes.

Even though the premise seems somewhat different, the movie is built on the same framework as every other teen slasher flick. The people are killed one by one and you can pretty much predict who will die next.

So, the movie isn't bad, it's just not anything new. And, if you want to see something from this horror genre, there are better movies out there.

NO SPOILERS UNTIL THE END - CLEARLY MARKED

This was your run of the mill, formulaic slasher film. The setup is the same setup you see in all films of this genre.. Group of teenagers/young 20 somethings going away on some trip to a secluded area where cell service doesn't seem to work - you have the usual interaction between the characters to set up who is who, the usual make out sessions to show you who is coupled with who, a few remarks about things that happened prior to the trip you don't care about to give you back story and it's all just a waiting game until the villain strikes. Kill Theory is no different.

Brent and 6 of his friends go on a trip to one of his Father's many homes for a fun weekend. This large home is secluded with the closest establishment nearly 50 miles away. When they arrive, they find Alex, Brent's half sister (her Mother married his rich Father) who was also planning on staying at the home for the weekend so of course she joins the core group bringing the total number of people staying in the home to 8.

The premise of the movie is that there is a deranged mad man who has apparently been stalking the main group for weeks who followed them to the home and has now demanded that by 6am the next morning only one of them be alive - they must kill each other to survive. He gruesomely kills one of them to send the message that he's serious and it's a message left on his/her body that leads them to a video that the man left for them explaining the rules. In the video they see their friend given the option to shoot his/her girlfriend/boyfriend who was sleeping at the time or die himself/herself. He/She refused and he kills him/her on camera. If you want to live, you need to kill your friends, period.

It's an interesting premise but far from new. Criminal Minds did it much better in 2006 with the episode 'North Mammon' - which had better acting, a better script and was a lot more interesting and psychologically disturbing. Kill Theory has a lot of blood and a lot of screaming but not a lot of good acting, not a lot of great dialogue and not a lot of realism given how some people die..or don't die.

Daniel Franzese plays Freddy who, for me, was unbearably annoying throughout the film. It's a bad sign when you spend minute after minute wishing he would shut up and die already and then being afraid that he'll be the survivor at the end and essentially be around the entire film. His hyperventilating and subsequent loud breathing was really hard to sit through as were his constant outbursts, freak outs and screams. I wanted to reach into the screen and kill him myself. He definitely downgraded the movie for me - scenes were hard to sit through because he wouldn't shut the heck up.

3/10 It mildly held my attention but it wasn't anything great. There is a twist at the end that was decent I guess but the majority of the film is your usual formulaic slasher stuff and none of it is spectacular.

SPOILERS -

I didn't have a problem when Brent was shot and then was able to get back up to kill Freddy because he was shot on his side and may not have been fatally wounded but just pretended he was. However, I had a big problem with how Amber seemed to gain strength as her injury should have been getting worse. She was shot point blank at close range with a 9mm handgun straight to the gut - dead center. She of course immediately goes down and starts bleeding heavily and has to be dragged down to the basement where she's left dying on the floor - so when she magically stopped being fatally injured and had enough strength to not only stab Jennifer which takes some force but to then prop herself up on top of her to choke her out? Was that supposed to be insulting to my intelligence? Is there a reason why she seemed to get better as time went on from her gunshot? Even after she kills Jennifer, she doesn't collapse and die but she continues to sit up, is completely alert and then interacts with Michael, the last male standing. Had I not seen her get shot, I wouldn't have even known she was injured based on how carefree she was at the very end.

As for Michael, why would he kill himself? Killing himself for Jennifer would be stupid but at least he loved her and she was his girlfriend but for Amber? He didn't even care about her - she was obsessed with him and other than a hook up, they didn't seem to have anything between them yet this guy is murdering himself for her? STUPID. That was plot motivated since Amber was the one who was going to survive at the end, not character driven because it makes no sense at all why Michael would kill himself just so that girl could live.

The whole sequence at the end hurt my head it was so dumb.

I want the 80 minutes of my life back that it took to watch this.

About 6 twenty-somethings are stuck at someone's summer house. The potentials for a fun weekend are there: nice babes, a lake and boat, plenty of beer ...and a gun.

There are plenty of bare midriffs, suggestive talk then blood soaked clothing and various amputated human limbs.

Some evil mastermind is watching over the entire scene and provides miscellaneous electronic communication via walkie talkies, video tapes and the like.

The mastermind is trying to get the twenty-somethings to kill each other. The last man (or girl) standing gets a prize...a blood soaked fruit cake or A BRAND NEW CAR??? Don't bother to watch this...take a nap instead.

I rate this: "zzzzzzzzzz"

A criminal is released on parole after serving time for an incident while mountain climbing when he cut the rope that sent three of his friends falling to their doom. This culminates in a night where the man released sets up a game with a group of affluent, yuppie soon-to-be college graduates staying at the home of their host's father's posh summer place. During the evening, the kids, who seemed to be in high spirits and anxious for the prominent future, will be given a choice, one will be able to survive while the others must perish, cut off as the killer's friends were, his testing a "kill theory" where he sees how much one values his/her life, willing to sacrifice their own in order to make it out alive. So we watch as they pick apart each other, loyalties divided, betrayal and backstabbing, seeing first hand the true nature of many when facing extinction. We see a gun juggled around as it controls the possibility of who lives and dies. We see attempts at manipulation, while the mastermind behind this whole orchestrated scenario offers others a chance to gain an advantage, also denying anyone an escape from the premises. Six o'clock is the deadline and as the clock ticks, violence and desperation escalates until nearly everyone is dead in one way or another. A shovel is used to bash a face in until it's a bloody pulp. A fireplace poker is plunged into an eyeball and through the skull. A bear trap goes through one victim trying for an ax stuck in a tree stump. A knife is used to stab into the stomach and leg, one particular moment revealing a dark truth about how love can fall by the wayside when time is almost up. What does happen is we do see how true love reigns at the end when one does give his life for another after being double-crossed by who he perceived to be his one-and-only. Like the Saw movies and the genre as a whole where we see humankind's true nature when facing death first-hand, "Kill Theory" follows a select group of individuals and how they react to a crisis. Eventually, among them is one who is willing to pursue whatever lengths necessary to save his/her hide, while another character shows their true colors in a startling, abrupt manner, catching a victim off-guard because the one attacked has no reason to expect his assailant. Mind games are employed as a means to secure a weapon or motivate the more vulnerable to improve their situation. I think movies like "Kill Theory" and "Saw" series will always appeal to a certain crowd who enjoy seeing characters turn on each other, tearing each other apart through actions and words, while hoping to escape the killer's trap(s), falling prey to their own frailties and weaknesses, attempting to resolve a very difficult dilemma which has them in a stranglehold. As is often the case, the killer is always one step ahead of his playthings, the obstacles removing any ability to flee from their captor. Really attractive cast has familiar faces like Agnes Bruckner, Daniel Franzese, and Taryn Manning. Kevin Gage(Chaos)is yet again a serial killer whose face is barely shown, his voice both cold-blooded and to-the-point. As expected, there are a lot of spats and melodramatic relationship problems which play out as the story unfolds and body count rises.

After being released from a mental institution, an insane rock-climber-turned-friend-murderer begins to stalk down a group of recently graduated friends. The killer follows them to their remote vacation home and turns their peaceful night into a Battle Royale-style fight for survival. The only rule: Kill or be killed.

After seeing Chris Moore's production style during the filming of 'Feast' on the since-canceled 'Project Greenlight,' I became a fan of his and respected the rare way he seemed to genuinely care about the film he was producing. As director for the first time, Moore took the helm of another low-budget horror film. That film is 'Kill Theory.' It's only natural to think that Moore would show even more care and love for the film as director than as producer; he did, and it was apparent. The plot is a bit of a turn-off at first for me. It's basically just a ripoff of 'Saw' (and similar films that came before) with extra freedom, like the ability to walk around instead of being chained to a toilet. However, one thing that indie productions have going for them is that no matter how SIMILAR a film is to another, it will probably still feel like genius originality in comparison to what Hollywood is producing. Therefore, in the current state of horror, I am not going to whine about wavering originality, but instead enjoy what's provided. As far as some basic elements go. . . the acting is average, which is to be expected at this level. No one really excelled all that much, and there were only one or two cases of real disappointment (like Amber, who conveyed less emotion than a sleeping Keanu Reeves). The characters they portrayed were strikingly similar to those in the 'Friday the 13th' interquel (though I'm fairly certain 'Kill Theory' was filmed first), including the group of pretty rich kids and the 'outsider' who enters on their good time. One thing that made me laugh about their characters was their extreme dislike for any electrical devices. Over the course of five minutes, the characters threw to the ground and broke a video camera, voice recorder, and walkie talkie (and later, a clock), for no real reason other than, I guess, frustration? The walkie talkie was probably the dumbest as her frustration came from a lack of contact. . . while she was underground in a stone-walled basement (?). Anyway, the writing, as far as story progression goes, wasn't awful; but, I do think the dialogue could've used another shine-up. Moore's direction, especially as a rookie effort, was very impressive and made for a good-looking film. This just goes to show what work within the film industry can do PRIOR to making the first film (aspiring filmmakers take note that there is no better training than actually being on set). Beyond that, the basic horror elements are in place and work well. It does have some genuine scares, the suspense is clear and solid, and it's an entertaining watch. There are some glaring problems and the story could've used a couple more twists & turns to keep it more exciting; but, overall, 'Kill Theory' is a strong thriller that can definitely hold its own in the modern horror game. Worth a watch.

Final Verdict: 6.5/10.

-AP3-

I'm from Colombia and i didn't even heard about this movie until the moment i saw it. it just surprises me that this movie hasn't been show into the light. it's a thrilling, fast-paced, edge of your seat thriller. even thought the beginning is slow and clichéd, the other 60 minutes are full of well built tension and strong character development. it gives you all the stereotypes of horror movies and then it kind of twisted of. i have to say that if you expect a Saw-esquire movie, you will be bored because it's not so graphic and the ending is not so manufactured. it has everything to become a success ( funny moments,great killings and a great ending). it's incredible that lions gate hide this one and releases that Dane Cook crap. the only thing that bothers me a little is the ending . i just, i wasn't expecting it at all. the other thing was Daniel Franzese's character. really annoying and out of nowhere.

So if you want to spend a nice ( even thought bloody and thrilling )time this one is just perfect for you. 4 stars out 5

After seeing KILL THEORY, I was surprised to learn that it was not released widely in theaters. It is a very solid, suspenseful horror-thriller, in the vein of the great SAW. Eight college friends Brent, Amber, Michael, Jennifer, Freddi, Alex, Carlos, Nicole spend one last weekend together before graduating and going there separate ways. They are terrorized by an unseen killer who compels them to kill each other off until only one of them survives by 6am the next morning.

In a way, I even think KILL THEORY pushes the envelope more than SAW because these people actually know each other and are the best of friends (supposedly) and so they have to kill people they are close to, whereas in the SAW films, a person had to either kill a complete stranger or an enemy to survive, which you would think would be a lot easier than killing a friend!

Admittedly, all the characters seem kind of one-note and slow-going at first, but as the film wears on, they all really grew on me and the action is so fast-paced with them having to think on the go that no time was wasted in digging too deep into their psyches. Just enough information was relayed so we know what each character was about. I kind of thought the reactions to the initial encounter with the killer were a bit either melodramatic and over the top by certain characters and underplayed by others, but as the film kept going, the acting got better and found myself paying attention to the characters!

Where most flicks like this usually lose me is when characters start doing stupid things. But these characters did not. They tried everything they could to simply get away, which is what most normal people would do! No ingenious plot to try to fool the killer, no trying to think like him or get inside his head, just plain old "Let's get the hell out of here!". And because the characters became well-defined, you actually started to care for all of them in one way or another and understand them.

The main plot point that bugged me though is that we're supposed to accept at face value that the killer can foresee ALL of his preys' actions and can tell how each one is going to act and react, which is a bit far-fetched. He had to be able to tell exactly what was going to happen over a period of about 6 or 7 hours until the clock struck 6AM.

But it was these innocent young characters that sold it for me. A lot of what happened was convincing. I felt sorry for them because they didn't ask for any of this and no matter how selfish some or all of them had been prior to this, you pity them and their situation just because a psycho wants to prove a point! The ending has a couple of twists and turns, but I actually think that even knowing the twists, I still wouldn't mind watching KILL THEORY again. Good story, writing, and acting will do that for you!

The movie is very boring for the most part. The characters are lame, and you don't care about anyone, therefore when anyone dies it's just blah. It did improve in the last 17 minutes. A lot of things happen unexpectedly, and people who you think are going to be the ''final girl'' don't survive, which I enjoyed. The very ending was the best part but the movie as a whole is so generic. In more talented hands it could be much better.