Review by Stuart O'Connor
Stars Lara Cox, Ben Seton, Jessica Turner, Kai Harris, Sam Lyndon, Mariane Power,
Paul Murphy, Brendan Sloane, Jerome Pride, Graham Gall | Written by Scott Murden
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £12.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 88 minutes | Directed by Scott Murden
Oh dear. The quote on the front of the DVD pack – attributed to FHM, so it must come from their review of the film – says "tense and action packed". Now, I have no idea which film the FHM critic was watching, but it can't have been this one – there is no tension or action whatsoever in the entire 88 minutes of the thing.
Fittingly, The Dinner Party hails from Canberra: the capital of Australia, and probably the most boring city on Earth. The film is not quite as boring as the city itself, but it certainly serves as a warning to tourists to keep well away from the place. It's a story told in flashback, about a beautiful but mentally unstable young woman (Cox) who plans to kill her boyfriend (Seton) and then herself after a dinner party. And that's pretty much all there is to it.
It doesn't star any really big names, although many of the faces will be familiar from Australian TV shows such as Home & Away, Water Rats and Heartbreak High. The acting is decent enough, but the script is plodding, dull and lacks direction. Written and directed by first timer Scott Murden, let's just say I won't be rushing out to catch his second film. This is one dinner party that it's best to decline an invitation to.
EXTRAS ★ An audio commentary (which I really can't bring myself to listen to) with writer/director Murden and producer Brendan Sloane.