Dude Bro Party Massacre III Movie Review

Watching this film called Dude Bro Party Massacre III, one can't help but be plagued with wave after wave of questions. What is a dude bro party massacre? Have they really made three of them? Was that Greg Sestero? And what am I doing with my life that led me to spend my Saturday night watching a film called Dude Bro Party Massacre III?

A Dude Bro Party Massacre is, as it turns out, an 80s slasher movie spoof, and the most insufferable sounding movie of all time, whether you take it at face value, or for the extended joke it patently always was going to be. No, there aren't any other films in the series (insert Simpsons “that's the joke” clip here). Yes, Greg Sestero is in it (oh, hai Mark!). And, well, that last question remains to be answered. And yet, another thing Dude Bro Party Masacre III is: actually very good.

Unlike most comedy horror hybrids, this one goes all in on the comedy, committing far harder to the joke than anything outside of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace or, uh, Scary Movie. It's the 80s slasher movie version of an Austin Powers movie or Black Dynamite; a remnant of Tarantino's Grindhouse fake movie phase in which the jokes land and the film works. This is not a thing I expected to be writing, but Dude Bro Party Massacre III is very funny. It's even quite smart and very well-written, in its own intentionally dumb kind of way. Although, with eleven credited writers and three directors, one would hope so...

A television recording of a lost slasher movie sequel, the film (I don't want to type Dude Bro Party Massacre III again... oh) follows a frat house of dude bros as they travel to their isolated cabin in the woods for a long night of intense drinking, partying and dancing. There they are stalked by psycho murderess Motherface, who begins picking them off one by one.

There's a genuine affection behind the camera that can only come with an intimate knowledge and love of old slasher films, and the lack of cynicism is a refreshing delight. It's easy to make a bad movie on purpose – it's far more impressive to make one that's actually funny. The cameo by Patton Oswalt shatters the illusion a little, but it remains committed to its bit, from the occasional interludes for TV adverts to the authentically terrible VHS-style tracking, and extended flashbacks to the first two movies.

This brand of humour won't be everyone's cup of tea, and it does wear thin the longer it goes on, but its hit rate is far higher than one has any right to expect. It's certainly more enjoyable than most of the films it's sending up. It's a better slasher movie than most modern 'retro' slasher films, and the funniest comedy horror flick since Deathgasm. Not bad for a bunch of dude bros.

I know, I know, that's the joke, but given how unexpectedly kind of great Dude Bro Party Massacre III turned out to be, I really wish there were at least two more of them.