Hot Tub Party Massacre (2016) Poster

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3/10
Enjoyable enough in spots but still generally letdown by production issues
kannibalcorpsegrinder19 October 2022
After escaping from prison, a deranged serial killer follows a group of college students enjoying a vacation to a high-end hotel and begins killing them off one by one to continue an earlier rampage that got interrupted, forcing the survivors to band together to stop him before he kills them all.

This was a tolerable enough shot-on-video throwback feature. Among the more enjoyable aspects here is the rather fun group of friends here who make the setup to this better than expected. The overt cheesiness of their antics around campus offers a fine starting point for the group which is enhanced by the way they win the trip to the hotel or the killer's rampage across the campus that clearly evokes that kind of approach. While that becomes the main technical starting point here focusing on the old-school aesthetics and storyline beats, that the group is still fun to be around during this part of the film is a great touch that adds a lot to the film. That goes along with the rather enjoyable series of stalking scenes involving the faceless killer knocking people off. The early scenes of the killer going around the campus, namely the encounters in the hallway or the chase through the library, are decent enough due to inserting some action into the film despite the use of slow-motion to highlight the stalking scenes. Once at the hotel, these scenes focus on the clumsy nature of the victims being so self-absorbed they fail to realize the killer is right in front of them until it's too late which allows for a laughably-cheesy series of confrontations. As well as the fine amount of nudity featured here, these are the film's positives. This one does have some issues involved. These are generally reserved for the highly obvious and almost detrimentally crippling low-budget on display. Not only is this a full-on shot-on-video aesthetic complete with cheap props and non-existent production values but also the near-total lack of gore here which is the puzzling aspect with this one. The film either cuts away before showing anything or provides an idea of the killing blow without showing the impact move as a means of not favoring the means of showing gore. On top of that, there are also the ridiculously cheesy slow-motion stalking chases that are based on building up the running time more than anything else which are the most detrimental factors bringing this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Nudity, sex scenes, and Mild Violence.
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enjoyable, ridiculous
vandwedge22 May 2020
Calling this movie good would be a little too generous, but it is a fun watch and does have a lot going for it.

The writing is often dopey but does have a few gems sprinkled throughout. Some genuinely clever and well crafted absurdist moments. (I wish it had a few more!)

The cast is extremely likable, if you're into the same type of person that the director is in. Apparently I am and the other reviewer was not, but I will say it's a type that doesn't often get featured in this genre, or any genre, so I appreciated it a lot. I kind of wish the advertising for the film indicated that more, so I would have had an easier time finding this.

The kills and gore are frankly pathetic, but the more you watch the movie, the more you realize that's kind of the point. Depictions of gore sort of peaked decades ago, so what is there even left to add? Perhaps it's better to take this movie's approach and put the focus elsewhere.
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1/10
The Worst Movie I've Ever Seen!
Deloreanguy793 November 2021
This "Movie" is beyond terrible,it's cringy bad. The DVD cover was the best thing of this eye rolling embarrassment. I couldn't even make it 30 minutes before I had enough. A movie to just avoid and pretend never happened.
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Sooo bad!!!
Dave_douell26 January 2019
Awful movie!! The only girls they could get to play in it is fat, skanky girls. I almost lost my lunch when they stripped. On top of that, it looked like a high school film project. I can't believe it has such a high rating.
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