Murder Bury Win Review: Roll The Dice On This Dark Indie Comedy

Release date: April 27, 2021 (Digital and On Demand)
Running time: 90 minutes
Starring: Mikelen Walker, Erich Lane, Henry Alexander Kelly, Craig Cackowski, Brian Slaten, Michael Lovan
Written and Directed By: Michael Loven

Three friends have created a board game, MURDER BURY WIN, and they think it has what it takes to become a bestseller on the indie charts. When their attempt to crowdfund fails, a mysterious man makes them an offer: he will publish their game on the condition that he takes credit as the sole creator and owner. After a dispute over the gaming rights leaves them with a body on their hands, the young men realize how suspiciously like murder the freak accident appears. Now, with few options remaining, they look to their game for guidance. The premise of their game? How to murder someone and get rid of the body.

Murder Bury Win is a refreshing indie horror comedy with plenty of board game and nerd overtones.  The film forms this great board game adventure around this group of friends, and they each bring something different to the table.  Chris (Walker) is the leader of the group, more levelheaded but still able to be influenced by the other members.  He is also the biggest board game geek of the three, and this knowledge is fun to see when he finally gets to open up with other board game lovers.  Adam (Lane) is the more impulsive and carefree of the group, and his decisiveness causes many of the problems and humor of the film.  And Barrett (Kelly) is the more thoughtful and good natured of the group.  I loved each of their characters and seeing their interactions provided a lot of the humor and heart of this movie.  And a lot of these interactions occur with Craig Cackowski as V.V. Stubbs, who is funny and ruthless in his portrayal of a master board game maker. 

Murder Bury Win centers around a board game, and thankfully the film backs it up with board game information.  It is all parodied, but there are plenty of similar sounding games and rules that will have board game lovers cracking smile after smile (and side note, if you want to brush up on your board game knowledge, I recommend the excellent documentary Gamemaster [review][interview]).  Some of the games are very similar to well known properties and the commentary around them is very entertaining.  But Murder Bury Win's namesake game is also a lot of fun to watch.  The gameplay is accompanied by dramatized recreations of the events in the game and they are as ridiculous (in a good way) when seen on screen.  I was chuckling seeing the friends reenact this with extra emotion and over the top expressions.  

And overall, Murder Bury Win is just a funny movie.  The humor is dark and perfect for this film.  The film focuses on the Murder and Bury aspect of the game, which will be a perfect intersection for board game fans (or just general nerds) and true crime fans.  I really enjoyed the true crime references, and this movie tickled all the right itches for me.  And the movie has a ton of indie charm, but is still very well done with a smart use of effects.  The weapons look legit, the blood and gore effects are well done, and everything about this film is thought out for maximum enjoyment.  And the ending of the film perfectly fits the tone and buildup of the movie.  And when was the last time you were able to start something on board game night and actually finish it with all your friend's limbs and feelings intact?

Roll the dice on Murder Bury Win, a darkly comedic indie film that has the humor and charm to be as entertaining as any board game night.

Watch it.

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Murder Bury Win is available digitally on April 27, 2021.

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