Kill Theory - 2.5/5

The impact of "Saw" on modern Horror cinema is something to be admired. It changed the game. That's why we have movies like "Kill Theory" now by the dozens. Although this film, released as a part of the fourth After Dark Horrorfest, does seem to run through the motions as a morality slasher film, it does give it a mighty good try and accomplishes a bit just through pure effort. It's still your rather run of the mill 'people in a trap that have to make the ultimate choice/sacrifice' that we see over and over again now, but it does have heart.

A faceless psychotic man is out to prove his 'kill theory' as truth. His theory is that no matter how close you are to your friends and loved ones, that if you are forced with a choice then you will kill them to save yourself. To test this theory, he enlists (alright, 'traps' if you will) a group of graduating college friends out for a trip a secluded cabin. They have until 6:00 am to kill one another until only one is left. If only one is left at that time, then that person lives. There is no escape either because he has rigged the place with traps and sabotaged their vehicles. Now its kill or be killed in a test of how far you would go for your closest friends and loved ones.

"Kill Theory" does have a lot of heart for what it is. The problem that plagues this from from beginning to end is that is suffers from being a bit too amateurish. At times it doesn't trust its audience to get things (like having the entire back story of the killer done as the prologue instead of letting it play out during the events), the dialogue seems to be simplified down quite a bit, and it comes off as rather predictable and when it does have twists they seem rather forced. These are all amateurish flaws that bog down the experience of the film.

On the other hand, I was impressed by the genuine effort the film puts out. Despite its flaws, it keeps pushing itself at 110% and the charm of this does show through. This film honestly tries and I have to give it some credit for that. The actors do their best and give it their all (although some are definitely better than others) and the writing might seem a little too surface, but it puts it all out there.

"Kill Theory" may not be the best horror film out there, but modern fans might get a kick out of it. It gets an A for effort, but the film never really blossoms into the heavy weighted morality suspense tale it could have.

BONUS RANT: At times it felt like the film wanted to make the villain climber man into a slasher killer with his weird ax and his smoker's voice. It never really does and because the story never really was built to make him that way, its sort of just a futile effort. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider